Into the Setting Sun
by Oonagh
Summary: Sequel to 'From the Ashes'. The group moves on toward New Pacifica but nothing ever goes smoothly for Eden advance...
1. Chapter 1

Into the Setting Sun (Chapter 1)

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since I wrote my last story, I still don't own Earth 2.

Author's Note: This is a repost of a story I posted last week. I guess something went wrong with the original post as the story kept vanishing from the listings. So I'm trying again and hopefully I'll have more luck. Chapter two is already written and typed - it was posted too - but I'm going to hold off on posting it till I see if this works.

_Twenty-seven days ago I went to sleep and lost three weeks of my life. To me it seemed as if no time had passed but everyone else had moved on into the future. It's been two days since I rejoined the group and I see so many changes. On my first night back we had a party – Bess's idea, I think – and at the end of the evening I looked around for my tent and couldn't find it. Everyone was very apologetic – they'd just grown used to leaving my tent down. Uly, it seems, had been sleeping with the Danzigers. Three short weeks and yet so much is different. I feel disoriented and frightened. My place in this group was always so certain, it kept me grounded. But now, as I listen to Danziger explain the plan for crossing the river, I feel adrift. What is my place now?_

Danziger stood beside Devon on the bank of the river nervously watching Alonzo drive the rail across the almost-causeway. Alonzo stalled slightly and Danziger stepped forward as if to help. Devon laid a hand on his arm.

"Don't worry, Danziger. He'll make it. Your plan is a good one." Danziger started. He'd almost forgotten Devon was there, she'd been so quiet all morning. And most of the previous evening. They'd reached the crossing spot late the night before and Danziger had laid out his plan for Devon, expecting her to take over and change it beyond recognition. To his shock, and disappointment, she'd merely nodded and said, 'It's up to you, Danziger. You've had more time to work on this than me.' And all this morning she'd stood by, silently. Her unusual behaviour had not gone unnoticed by the group who had been casting wary looks in her direction for the past few hours. Julia had muttered something to Danziger about delayed shock – the euphoria of her miraculous recovery and the reunification had worn off and reality had hit home. Danziger supposed that made sense – three weeks was a long time to lose – but he was still worried. Even now, as she reassured him, she sounded vague and distant. Danziger chose to overlook that and responded to her words rather than her tone.

"I hope you're right, Adair. We can't afford to lose anyone or anything crossing this. We're short enough on equipment as it is. And if we lose the 'rover we may as well just sit down and wait for death." He glanced at Devon, waiting for her frustrated response to such blatant pessimism.

"You're right about the 'rover. But your plan will work." Danziger shook his head at her calm response.

"Well I'd better go get the 'rover ready." He walked away, reflecting ruefully that he had never thought he would see the day he'd be deliberately provoking Devon to fight with him. While she'd been asleep he'd promised himself that their relationship would change when she woke up – that, now that he understood how difficult leadership was, he'd be more supportive and less combative. But now he'd be grateful if she just launched one small sarcastic attack at his pessimistic paranoia.

For two days the whole group had rejoiced at the return of Devon, whole and unchanged. She'd spent those two days laughing and joking, catching up on events and on gossip (it always amazed Danziger that such a small number of people could inspire such a huge amount of gossip, but there it was). Danziger had relegated leadership to her gladly although, by necessity, he made the plans for their immediate future. But now things had changed. Devon seemed to be withdrawing into herself, leaving Danziger in charge once more. Which he hated. But what concerned him more was Devon. He had hoped and fought and even prayed for her return. He had missed her – missed her wisdom, her optimism, her leadership, her laugh. And he thought he'd got all that back. For a short time he had his friend, the group had its leader and Uly had his mum. And now, Danziger was afraid, they were losing her again.

Danziger reached the transrover and forced the worried thoughts from his head. It would take all his concentration to manoeuvre the unwieldy vehicle safely across the river. He and magus had spent the morning making sure all the equipment was doubly strapped down. He had considered moving as much as possible and having people carry equipment across but in the end he'd decided that was too risky. One wrong step would send the equipment and the carrier into the fast-flowing river and they would be out of reach within seconds. In that situation, however, the transrover's weight would stand it in good stead, buying time to haul the vehicle out. Danziger did one last check of the straps and then swung himself into the 'rover's cab. Yale was already in the passenger seat, ready to keep an eye on the caterpillar tracks on that side of the vehicle to make sure they stayed on the rocks.

"Ready to go, Yale?" Yale nodded, his usually calm façade showing cracks.

"May God protect us." Danziger raised an eyebrow but then decided that, in the circumstances, a prayer couldn't hurt. He added a self-conscious Amen. Then he started the engine and began to move slowly forward. Ahead of him he could see Baines and Alonzo waiting, armed with grappling hooks, just in case. He knew that Morgan and Walman were on the bank behind him, similarly equipped. Danziger let out a heavy sigh and took a deep breath back in, willing himself calm. He alternated between looking out the windscreen and glancing down at the tracks on his side of the vehicle. Yale remained silent – he would only speak if something went wrong on his side.

About half way across Danziger began to relax slightly. So far so good. Things continued smoothly until about ten feet from the slowly approaching bank. The 'rover rocked to the left with a huge grinding sound and, at the same moment, Yale spoke.

"Loose rock. Turn to the right, John." Danziger grimaced, using all his strength to keep the 'rover under control.

"Can't. No room." The 'rover rocked again and the wheel was ripped from Danziger's hands, turning of its own accord. The front left wheels slipped off the rocks leaving the 'rover slanting into the river.

"Get over here, Yale. Put your weight over here." Yale scrambled upward, pressing Danziger against the cab door, and Danziger could see the tutor's lips moving in what he assumed to be silent prayer. Danziger too called for help, but not from God.

"Baines, Alonzo, get those hooks out here."

"We're here, Danziger. Getting you hooked up now. On our signal turn the wheel right as hard as you can."

"You got it, Alonzo." Danziger wished his view wasn't obscured by the rover's position. He always felt better when he could see what was happening.

"Now!" Alonzo's voice in his ear jerked Danziger into action, following the pilot's instruction. At first nothing happened but then the 'rover began to slowly right itself. Bit by bit they edged towards the bank until eventually the tracks found grip on solid ground and the 'rover rolled out of the river.

Danziger released the breath he'd been holding and swung out of the cab, anxious to check the vehicle for any damage. True and Uly immediately launched themselves at him and grabbed on to his waist.

"Are you okay, dad?"

"I really thought you were going in the river." Both kids sounded terrified so Danziger stopped to give them a hug.

"Don't worry. I was perfectly safe. Alonzo and Baines knew what they were doing." True nodded and after a moment Uly copied her, although Danziger was unsure just how convinced they were. He ruffled Uly's hair and joined Baines in checking the 'rover's undercarriage.

"Everything looks fine, Danziger." Danziger just grunted. He wouldn't feel confident about that until he had a chance to have a really good poke around. He crawled out from under the 'rover and went in search of Devon. He found her standing on the bank with Yale, looking back across the river.

"It looks like it was a good thing we brought the transrover across last, John." Danziger looked where Yale was pointing and saw a huge hole in the causeway. There was no way anyone could cross the river that way now. He shuddered slightly but then forced the 'what if' thoughts from his head.

"Adair, we need to stay here tonight. I don't want to drive the 'rover on till I check her over." Danziger braced himself for Devon's negative response – she always fought against anything that slowed down their progress towards New Pacifica. But today was different.

"If you think that's best Danziger. I'll tell everyone we're setting up camp." Devon walked off in the direction of the rest of the group, most of whom were clustered around the' rover. Danziger looked at Yale questioningly. The tutor shook his head.

"I think we just need to give her time. Let her adjust, John. She's been through a lot." Danziger sighed.

"I know. But I was so glad to have her back." Danziger spoke without thinking and then rushed to cover his mistake – he suspected Yale already had the wrong idea about how he felt about Devon.

"I mean, leading this group was a nightmare. I was happy to hand responsibility back to the woman who signed up for it." Yale nodded, a slight smile on his face. Danziger scowled and stalked off. He hated the fact that his nascent friendship with Devon was so often misinterpreted. The friendship had been so hard won and even now he was occasionally shocked to realise he was _friends_ with a woman like Devon Adair. And friendship was all he wanted. Devon was definitely not his type, despite what Yale might think.

Danziger reached the rest of the group and was relieved to find that Devon had assigned everyone jobs and camp preparation was well on its way. Devon had roped Uly and True into helping put the Adair tent up and the three of them were fighting with the canvas, with much giggling from the two kids. Uly spotted Danziger and called out to him.

"John, John, come and help. The tent's trying to eat us!" Danziger laughed and shook his head at the boy's imagination. Then he saw Devon's face and his smile faded. All of a sudden she looked lost, her enjoyment at playing with the kids gone for a reason he couldn't fathom. Danziger walked over to them and helped put the tent up. Then he and True turned their attention to their own tent. Uly came with them to help but Devon politely excused herself.

"I should go and make sure there are no problems." Danziger nodded, glad she appeared to be taking on the mantle of leadership but vaguely uneasy about her timing. It almost seemed that she was making an excuse to get away from him and from the kids. Danziger dismissed that thought instantly – that just wasn't Devon. He knew few parents who were as devoted to their kids as Devon was to Uly. She was never happier than when she was with her son. It was that fact that had first made Danziger realise that she was more than just a spoiled rich girl.


	2. Chapter 2

Into the Setting Sun

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

Author's Note: This story takes place after 'All about Eve' and is a sequel to 'From the Ashes' so it would probably help if you read that story first. I probably should have mentioned that in chapter 1, but better late than never…

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Devon walked away from Danziger and the giggling children, feeling empty. So much had changed while she slept. It had just struck her that Uly and True had not had one real fight since she came back. They'd gone from being reluctant companions to being friends. And since when had Uly called Danziger by his first name?

Her mind flashed back to the day before when Danziger had come back from scouting slightly ahead, just to make sure that they'd picked the best crossing place. She and Uly had been eating dinner when the noise of the approaching 'rail caught her son's attention. He immediately put down his bowl and ran off without a word. Danziger had stepped out of the 'rail, his arms outspread. Uly had flung himself at John who had grabbed him and spun him around, roaring like some kind of huge animal. Uly had shrieked with joy and both of them were laughing when Danziger sat the boy down and ruffled his hair. Devon had looked on in amazement, realising that she was watching a ritual. Each of them had known exactly what to do without a single word being exchanged.

At the time she had been bemused but now she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Three weeks was a long time. Even her son had moved on. She had no doubt that he loved her, that he was overjoyed to have her back, but watching him with Danziger – and with True – she realised that he had been well on his way to finding a new family. And that hurt, even though she knew it was a good thing that if anything did happen to her Uly would be okay. Devon walked around the campsite automatically checking on progress but running over and over in her mind the image of her son swinging through the air in Danziger's arms.

Throughout the day Danziger kept an eye on Devon, worried about her uncharacteristic withdrawal. After the camp had been completely set up she had wandered over to the edge of the river and had sat there, staring out over the plain, rebuffing all attempts at conversation. Even Uly left after only a few minutes, frowning. Devon didn't even seem to notice. As the sun set and everyone gathered around the fire for dinner Devon still didn't move. Danziger stopped Bess from trying to talk her down.

"Leave her be. I'll take her something later." Bess looked uncertain but she sat back down beside Morgan. Danziger took his time finishing his dinner and then he sent True and Uly to Yale for their class – they'd learned that on travelling days it was easier to leave lessons until the camp was set up. He than spent around half-an-hour tinkering at the 'rover, one eye on the ridge where Devon sat. Eventually, he accepted that she had no intention of moving any time soon and that he was going to have to find out what was going on. He cursed. This wasn't supposed to be his job anymore. Devon was supposed to be fine. She was the one who was supposed to be in charge, dealing with all the little problems that so frustrated him.

He stood up and stomped up to the ridge, stopping at the fire to put some stew in a bowl. He set the bowl on the ground beside Devon's crossed legs.

"You need to eat, Adair."

"I'm not hungry."

"You still need to eat." Devon's head swung round towards him, a glare plastered on her face. But Danziger didn't even notice. In the twilight he could see that her eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed. She'd obviously been crying.

"What's wrong, Devon?"

"Oh, it's Devon now is it? There seems to be a lot of that going around." Danziger stared at her, mystified both by her statement and by the anger in her voice.

"What the hell are you talking about, Adair?"

"My son calls you John." The anger was still there, carefully controlled this time.

"Um, yes. It felt weird having him call me Mr. Danziger all the time. And I thought it might make things easier for him too." Danziger was still puzzled.

"Very rational. And your explanation for that stupid twirling ritual the two of you have?" Her tone told Danziger he was still treading on dangerous ground but he had no idea why.

"Twirling ritual? Oh, you mean the burly. That's just for fun. Kids like it. True loved a few years ago. Every time she saw me she'd run and fling herself at me so I could spin her until she couldn't walk straight. She thinks she's too big for that now."

"A touching story. But Uly is _my_ son. I would prefer that you not do that with him anymore."

"What?" Danziger's voice rose in disbelief. "You're sitting up here crying because you don't approve of burlys?"

"No! You just don't get it do you. I was as good as dead for three weeks. Three weeks to you – but it seemed like no time to me. And when I came back I find that everybody has moved on. My whole world changed overnight. Even my own son has happily found himself another family. Everything's just fine, I'm told. You've been asleep for three weeks, but don't worry, we're making great progress. John has a terrific plan for crossing the river. And, gee, Devon we're really sorry we forgot to put up your tent but we'll do it right now. And your plan _was_ terrific. You had everybody working well – even Morgan was co-operating." Devon's voice trailed away and tears rose in her eyes. She blinked them away furiously while Danziger sat in shocked silence.

"I don't understand, Devon. Did you want my plan to fail?"

"No, of course not! I just wish there'd been something for me to do." Danziger snorted.

"You're kidding, right? I gave you a million opportunities to run the thing."

"No, Danziger. You came to me with a complete plan. One that everyone had agreed to. You even had individual jobs laid out – who would stand where and do what. There was nothing for me to do but agree and stand back and watch." Danziger was silent for a minute, considering what she had said.

"I didn't mean to do that, Devon. I truly wanted you to take charge – I didn't even realise I'd left nothing for you to do. I guess I'd just gotten used to running things."

"Exactly. You don't need me as leader. This group does just fine without me." Danziger's eyebrows rose as he finally realised what was really bothering Devon.

"Self-pity isn't very attractive, Adair. You need to snap out of this and so I'm going to tell you something. Nope, don't say a word, just listen for once. When we locked you into that cryotube we were terrified. Terrified that we'd lost you. Lost our friend and our leader. We spent a week at the ship, panicking. People only spoke when it was necessary. And Uly, not even then. He spent all day, every day sitting in front of you unless someone dragged him away and even then as soon as their attention wandered he'd be straight back. Julia worked day and night for that first week, eating and sleeping in her lab and not doing much of either. When she couldn't find any answers I decided that we needed to leave – but only because of my promise to you. If it hadn't been for that we'd never have left you. So really, you made the decision to move on. And the reason everybody followed my decision was because your collapse had left them all too shocked and apathetic to fight. On the surface our journey from the ship to the river was smooth and went well. But underneath things were falling apart. I was so busy leading, taking charge, that I had no time for the vehicles and things started messing up. If we had gone much further the vehicles would probably have died – the 'rover definitely would have. And I was too busy second guessing myself and worrying over whether I was doing a good job that it took me too long to notice the kind of damage Julia was doing to herself. And even when I did it was Alonzo who had the strength to do what needed to be done. I was too afraid of making the wrong decision; too busy asking myself what you would do. Then there was Uly. When we left you behind it was as if we'd left him too. He was there in body but the rest of him was somewhere else. He never spoke. He didn't eat unless someone told him to. The only person he showed any reaction to was True - he refused to leave her side, day or night. That's why Uly moved into our tent. For ages none of us understood why he'd latched on to True but then he told her. True's mum is in a coma, just like you were. Uly knew True understood his loss. We didn't know what to do for Uly. Everybody tried to bring him round, but nothing worked. Then one day he came out of it alone. Shocked us all to hell. Nature started to heal Uly – I guess three weeks is even longer to a child than to the rest of us. It wasn't something brilliant we did. And even then he still had nightmares – right up to the day the terrians told him you'd be okay. Do you understand, Adair? Every single one of us needs you. Uly's life as good as ended when he lost you. I can't lead, caution gets in the way, and I spend too much time second guessing. And the group needs their mechanic where he belongs and a leader who knows what she's doing. And you can't do your job while you're sitting up here moping. I know you've lost three weeks and it must be hard but you've got to accept it and move on. Otherwise we may as well have left you back in the cryochamber for all the good you're doing us." Devon watched Danziger in shock. That was the longest speech she'd ever heard him give and some of what he'd said really struck a chord. She didn't speak as he stood up, dusted off his trousers and strode off back to camp. Devon watched him until the darkness swallowed him and then she lay back and turned her attention to the starry sky.


	3. Chapter 3

Into the Setting Sun

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

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When Danziger arose and left his tent the next morning he was greeted by the sight of Devon and Yale poring over topographic printouts that were spread over crates beside the fire. The only other person up was Bess, who was stirring at something in the pot hanging over the fire. Danziger made his way over to the small group, drawing the attention of Bess.

"Good Morning."

"Morning." Yale and Devon looked up from their work. Yale nodded and Devon smiled, unsurely. Danziger nodded at her, silently showing his approval. Encouraged, Devon spoke.

"We think we have the next section of our route marked out, Danziger, but you should probably look at it just in case we're trying to be too ambitious with the vehicles. I know you're concerned about the 'rover." Danziger nodded.

"Hopefully after today it won't be an issue. The 'rover needs an overhaul is all and staying here today'll give me the chance to do it. Then she should be running fine."

"That's great, but I still think you stood take a look before we move out. We don't want to end up having to backtrack, not if we want to make it to New Pacifica before the colony ship." Danziger nodded again.

"I'll look at them tonight." Devon smiled at him.

"That will do fine." Then she turned her attention to Bess. "I don't suppose breakfast is ready? I'm starved." Bess gave one last stir.

"It's all yours Devon."

"Fantastic. I'll just go and get Uly up. Do you want me to give True a shout, Danziger?"

"Sure. Thanks." Danziger had intended letting True sleep in this morning but he could see what an effort Devon was making and he wasn't about to shut her down. As Devon left Yale rolled up the maps and came over to Danziger.

"Things look better this morning."

"I guess you were right – she just needed time."

"Maybe. But whatever it was that brought her back, I'm glad." Danziger nodded uncomfortably, wary of Yale's implication.

"So, who's for oatmeal?" Bess's cheerful voice always irritated Danziger in the morning but today he smiled at her as he handed over his bowl.

"Fill 'er up, Bess."

Danziger spent the entire day working on the 'rover, stopping only to eat the lunch that Uly brought him at Devon's instigation. By sunset he had – as far as he could tell – solved all the problems and the 'rover appeared to be running smoothly. Danziger was exhausted and stiffer than he could ever remember being. He winced as he pushed himself to his feet and wiped his hands on a scrap of cloth. He forced himself to stretch, trying to unfreeze his muscles. Shooting pains in his arms caused him to groan.

"Sore?" Danziger jumped at the sound of the voice behind him. The voice laughed.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"You shouldn't creep up on people like that, Adair."

"I wasn't creeping. All that moaning just drowned me out."

"Did you want something?"

"Yes. You." Danziger blinked, shocked. Devon started to blush as she realised how her words could be interpreted but she continued talking as if nothing had happened.

"Dinner's ready. I came to get you." Danziger grinned but decided to ignore her embarrassment.

"Okay, I'll just stow my tools. I'm all done here anyway."

"Is it fixed?"

Yeah. I think so."

"You think so?"

"Adair, she's pretty worn out and I don't have the proper equipment to mend her. I've had to improvise pretty drastically. And don't even get me started on what I had to use as replacement parts. But she's running. And I'm pretty sure she'll keep running, at least for a while. That's the best I can promise." Devon nodded.

"It'll have to do then."

"Yeah. Just keep your fingers crossed. New Pacifica is still a long way off."

"We'll get there, Danziger. We have no choice. We're not well enough equipped to set up permanently anywhere else. We need the supplies that are there. And we can't leave the colonists to fend for themselves. Not with everything we've learned about this planet."

"Hey, I'm not arguing with you, Adair. I know how important it is that we get to New Pacifica. I'm just starting to worry about _how_ we're going to get there."

"Yale and Zero are still scanning for our other cargo pods and Yale thinks he's found a way to increase the scanning range."

"Yeah, but has he found a way to tell whether the Grendlers have been there first?" Devon shrugged.

"We'll just have to take the chance. But there's no point worrying about time wasting now. There's no sign of any pods on the scans so all we can do is keep on moving and go easy on the transrover. At the very least we can stop people riding on it."

"Martin's going to love that." Devon smiled.

"He'll live. Now come on and get some dinner."

"Yes, Ma'am."


	4. Chapter 4

Into The Setting Sun

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

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The next morning the group struck camp quickly and efficiently, loading all the heavy equipment on to the transrover while Danziger stood by, watching nervously. He'd spent most of the night tossing and turning in his bed, going over and over the repairs in his head. He was convinced he'd done all he could but, for some reason, he didn't find that terribly comforting. Devon walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm.

"Don't worry. You're a good mechanic."

"Sometimes it's a miracle worker that's needed, not a mechanic."

"It will work, Danziger."

"Probably. Today at any rate." Devon sighed at his determined pessimism.

"Well, at least try not to look so worried. There's no sense in worrying everyone else." Danziger glanced at her and then nodded, trying to smooth his expression. The look of concentration on his face forced Devon to hide a smile as she walked away. Danziger swung himself into the 'rover cab and started the engine, eyes closed. He heaved a sigh of relief when it started smoothly and kept going. He waited for Yale's signal and then began to move the 'rover forward, even more slowly than usual.

For three days they kept going like this. Moving slowly, navigating around difficult ground, refusing to overwork the 'rover. Everyone fretted at their slow progress, especially as, despite Danziger's dire predictions, the 'rover seemed to be running as well as ever. On the evening of the third day Devon approached Danziger as he lay on the ground under the large vehicle.

"Problems?"

"No more than usual."

"The 'rover seems to be holding out well."

"So far."

"Danziger, you really are the most pessimistic person I've ever met!"

"A little caution never hurt."

"No, but too much can." Danziger wriggled out from under the 'rover and glared up at her.

"What are you saying, Adair?"

"Just that you've done a good job, Danziger. She's running fine."

"Uh-huh. And?"

"And maybe we should speed up a bit. Stop taking so many detours. We haven't even come close to making twenty kilometres the last three days."

"We definitely won't make twenty kilometres if the 'rover breaks down. Unless your new bond with the planet's given you super strength." Devon ignored his snide remark, the latest of many concerning her strange recovery. She knew he was just trying to provoke a reaction.

"Tomorrow we're going to go faster and see how the 'rover handles it. If it seems to be badly affected we'll slow down again the next day. That's the best I can do, Danziger."

"Fine, it's your vehicle after all. But you can't say I haven't warned you, Adair." Devon nodded and walked away, watched by Danziger who was torn between frustration at her stubborn optimism and happiness that she had so thoroughly taken charge again.

Noon the next day found Danziger back under the 'rover, trying to repair the damage caused by a large patch of scree that Devon had refused to go around. He pounded away with unwarranted force, muttering the whole time about stubborn, spoiled, rich women. But his tirade lacked conviction – after all it wasn't entirely Devon's fault, he should have argued harder but he had been too afraid of seeming like he was taking over. So he'd bitten his tongue and allowed her to order Magus to drive the 'rover over the loose stones. The 'rover had made it but had ground to a halt half a kilometre farther on. Danziger had sighed, stomped over to the vehicle and started work. That had been fifteen minutes ago and so far no one had had the courage to come and ask what the problem was. Not even Devon. Danziger could smell lunch. Bess had obviously decided to prepare something hot since they were stopped anyway. His stomach growled in response to the delicious smell. They'd eaten better these past few weeks than at any other time since landing on G889 and the whole group was starting to get used to it. Which was worrying Danziger. He was convinced that morale would plummet when their supply of carefully smoked meat ran out. Spirolina bars would taste even worse after a break from them. He'd raised that concern with Devon over breakfast that morning but she'd dismissed it with a smile and a simple, 'we managed before'. Danziger hadn't pressed the issue any further, allowing her to have the last word even though he believed she was wrong. He was too happy that she appeared to have completely returned to her old self to risk any setback. As with the 'rover issue, he had wanted to make sure she felt in control. And so he'd backed down, convincing himself that it didn't really matter as it would be weeks before the supply problem had to be dealt with. And by that time he wouldn't have to be careful with Devon anymore; she'd have had time to come to terms with what had happened.

Danziger screwed in the last screw and slid himself out from under the 'rover. The damage hadn't been too hard to repair but it still worried him. There were too many little damaged areas on his vehicles and he was convinced that it would not take much more to render them completely useless. The 'rover was already sending signals that it was on its last legs.

Wiping his hands on a scrap of cloth, Danziger looked around for Devon. She needed to know that the 'rover was fixed – for now. He caught sight of her striding purposefully across the rapidly developing camp toward the med-tent. This piqued his interest. Devon had continually been assuring everyone that she was fine and Julia had backed her on this. But when Danziger had tried to query deeper both women had shut down. Devon always responded with, 'I said I was fine' and Julia hid behind doctor-patient confidentiality. Danziger had even tried using sarcasm and carefully calculated verbal attacks to provoke Devon into letting something slip. It hadn't worked. And so Danziger continued to wonder exactly how Devon was. What changes had the planet made to her? Had her DNA been altered? If she chose could she travel through the ground? Or operate one of those digger staff things? Danziger pestered Julia with these questions, convinced that the group had a right to know. And, under that, desperate to know that Devon was truly fine. That she wouldn't suffer a relapse like the one suffered by Uly during Ga'al's enslavement of the diggers.

He was convinced that if he found out that Devon was completely, unambiguously cured the dreams he had been having since she took ill would finally stop and he would cease waking in the middle of the night and having to fight the urge to check in on Devon to make sure she was alright. And he didn't always win the fight – several times since her resurrection he'd found himself peering in through her tent door, watching her until he was satisfied she was still breathing. But no matter what tack he tried with Julia she refused to answer any specific questions.

So, when Danziger saw Devon enter the med-tent, he seized his opportunity. He had to know. He glanced around, ensuring everyone was busily occupied, and then he walked quickly to the back of the med-tent and sat down, his ear against the canvas wall.

"Are you sure, Julia?" Devon's was the first voice Danziger heard and he cursed the fact that he'd obviously missed the start of the conversation,

"Certain. It has stabilised. There have been no changes for five days now. Whatever was being done is finished."

"But with Uly the changes were slow."

"All I can say is that this proves your case is different from Uly's. Just like Alonzo said. Are you still having the dreams?"

"Yes. Still the same one. I see the ocean and the beach, just like in the holovid your grendler friend had. And you, Alonzo and Danziger are always there. It's a beautiful dream, the eastern ocean seems just as real as did the day we paddled in it, but I don't think that it's connected to the other changes. It's just a dream. More of a memory actually."

"Maybe so. And the other changes?"

"Still there. They're stable, just like you say my DNA is. It's going to rain this afternoon. Heavily, but it will blow over by early evening."

"I suppose it makes sense that you can predict the weather if you're connected to the planet. It'll be fascinating to see if you can predict the change of seasons – you know, like a long term weather forecast."

"Oh yes, fascinating." Danziger barely suppressed a chuckle at the sarcasm in Devon's voice.

"You know what I mean Devon. That sort of information could be vital to the success of the colony, especially in the first few years."

"I know." There was silence for a minute and Danziger cursed inwardly, wishing he could see what was going on.

"What is it Devon?"

"I _am_ fine, aren't I Julia? I won't take sick again?"

"As far as I can tell, Devon, you are fine. Healthier than you've ever been. And Alonzo tells me the terrians say the same. You are not like Uly, Devon. He relapsed because he was sick and the terrians cured him, linking his welfare to theirs. You were never sick, not really, and you're not connected to the terrians but to the planet."

"So does that mean my welfare is tied to the planet's?"

"I really wish I knew, Devon, but I have no way of telling. This is so far beyond my science."

"So we just have to trust what the terrians tell us?"

"They've never lied to us before. I'm not even sure they know how – how you can have deceit in a community that thinks with one mind, that communicates mentally for the most part?"

"Thanks, Julia."

"No problem. If you need to talk I'm always here. Or I'm sure John would listen. He's worried about you."

"He's worried about the group, about the effect any relapse on my part would have on them."

"Yes. But he's worried about you too – has been since we locked you in the cryopod."

"Even if you're right, he doesn't need to worry. You just said I really am fine."

"But he doesn't know that." Devon made no audible reply to that and moments later Danziger heard her leave the tent. He waited a few minutes to make sure the coast was clear before walking nonchalantly over to the fire to claim his lunch. He felt a little guilty about eavesdropping on his two friends but the feeling of relief at knowing that Devon truly was fine overwhelmed the guilt. He ate his lunch with a small smile on his face, which didn't leave even when the rain began. He'd seen too many strange things on this planet to worry about a woman suddenly being able to predict the weather.

Author's Note: Please review, let me know if this is worth continuing.


	5. Chapter 5

Into the Setting Sun

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, they're always gratefully received.

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For four days the group had been travelling slowly, unwilling to risk anything happening to the 'rover. The incident with the scree had frightened even Devon and she had given Danziger his way. But the slow pace was taking its toll. Devon was getting more and more frustrated and the rest of the group was reacting similarly. Except for Danziger who had remained preternaturally calm, seeming more at peace than he had for a long time. And this seemed to frustrate Devon even more.

True and Uly had taken to walking at the back of the convoy in order to avoid the adults. It did not matter to them what speed the caravan travelled at but since the scree incident they had both been snapped at often enough to teach them that it was a good idea to keep a safe distance from worried grown-ups. And so it was, on the fifth morning, that Uly and True were the first ones to notice the new problem with the transrover. And even Uly, new to the business of vehicle repair, knew that a huge piece of smoking metal falling from the undercarriage was a bad sign. The two children walked over to the debris and exchanged a glance before letting their gazes follow the still moving – for the moment – 'rover.

"So who gets to tell him?"

"He's _your _dad."

"Yeah, so that's means he'll be nicer to you."

"Nu-huh. He's gonna be mad no matter who tells him." True nodded in reluctant agreement with Uly's analysis of the situation.

"Rock, Scissors, Paper?" The two kids had taken to Yale's solution for solving their many disagreements like ducks to water but they hadn't had any cause to use it since Devon's illness and the drastic change in their relationship. This situation, however, seemed like an ideal opportunity to revive the tradition – neither of the two was prepared to _volunteer_ to be the one ho told Danziger that something else had happened to one of his precious vehicles. And so Uly and True stood over the still-smoking metal fragment and thumped their fists off their thighs, counting out loud. They had gotten as far as three when they were interrupted by a muffled roar, followed by a loud bang. They looked around in alarm and saw the 'rover come to a stumbling halt, swathed in smoke.

"I guess we don't have to tell him after all."

"No, but if I know my dad, we don't want to be standing here when he comes looking for his piece." Uly nodded vigorously and the two set out quickly to catch up with the rest of the group, walking around the passenger side of the 'rover to avoid the emerging driver.

Danziger spent another lonely afternoon under the transrover, the string of curses he had let loose on finding the detached part enough to keep even the most curious to stay away. Eventually, however, his work was interrupted by the inevitable arrival of Devon.

"Well?" Danziger stayed under the 'rover, not wanting to look Devon in the eye when he broke the prognosis to her. He told himself it was because he was in no mood to deal with one of her angry rants but he knew that the real reason was that he didn't want to see the look on her face when he told her there was no way they would reach New Pacifica before the colony ship.

"It's worse than I thought, Adair. I've managed to weld the hydrator back on but it's a patchy job. The 'rover'll keep going for a while longer but only if we make absolutely sure she doesn't overheat again. We'll have to cut our daily distance down."

"How far?" Danziger was silent, unable to say what needed to be said.

"How far will we be able to go each day, Danziger?"

"Eight, maybe ten kilometres, depending on the terrain and the weather."

"Fine. Well, you do what you can here and I will go and call everyone together to tell them the news." Danziger winced at Devon's flat tone and calm acceptance and suddenly he felt bad about hiding. He pulled himself out from under the 'rover just in time to see Devon fade into the twilight. He started after her but stopped himself. He still had a lot of work to do on the 'rover and he needed to finish up while there was still some light.


	6. Chapter 6

Into the Setting Sun

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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By the time Danziger had finished it was fully dark, the only light coming from the group's few security lights and Bess's cook fire. He was satisfied with the job he'd done – for a while he'd thought that he'd not be able to repair her at all – but he still felt bad that his best efforts were not enough. The damage to the 'rover meant that it would take more than twice as long to reach New Pacifica. And that was only if the 'rover didn't break down completely. Stretching, Danziger started to walk toward the fire, knowing Bess would have kept him some dinner. He was right. As soon as he walked into the ring of firelight she handed him a bowl. He thanked her and sat down, glancing surreptitiously around the circle of glum faces. Bess had obviously been crying and many of the others looked like tears were not too far away. As Bess returned to her crate Morgan slipped his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. Alonzo and Julia sat in similar fashion next to them. Under other circumstances Danziger would have smiled at that and teased them – it was the first time he could remember them showing any kind of physical affection in public. True and Uly were sitting with Yale – Uly on his lap and True crushed in close to his side, looking more childlike than she had in many weeks. The rest of Eden Advance was clustered around the fire in little groups. No one was sitting alone.

Danziger tried to ignore them while he ate his dinner. It was obvious that Devon had already spoken to them and he had nothing to add. There was nothing he could say that would make them feel any better, make things right. And so he kept his gaze resolutely on his food, a big man hunched over a tiny, steaming bowl. When he finished he looked up again. Nobody had moved or spoken since he arrived. Clearly, no one had anything to say. Suddenly, Danziger realised that something was wrong with the silence. Where was Little Miss Optimism? It wasn't like Devon Adair to be silent – usually she was prattling on, telling everybody that everything would be alright, no matter what the evidence said. Danziger quickly glanced round the fire again.

"Where's Adair?" Julia raised her head slightly.

"I think she's in her tent." Danziger frowned. That wasn't good. He stood up but had barely gone two steps when Yale spoke.

"She asked to be left alone. She told me to keep everyone away."

"And you think that's really what she needs?" Yale was silent. He knew John was right but he was too used to doing what Devon wanted. He loved her like a daughter but she was still his employer and it was difficult for him to go against her wishes, her orders. And so he had stayed away when she asked him to and worried about whether he was doing the right thing. Now he looked at Danziger and knew he hadn't. But if his suspicions about John were correct then the younger man would be much more help than him right now. Yale nodded once and Danziger strode off in the direction of Devon's tent. The rest of the group barely reacted, despite their usually lively debate about the nature of Devon and Danziger's relationship. But this time even Morgan didn't sneer. Yale wracked his brain for something to say, but came up with nothing. The silence around the fire reminded him of the time immediately after they left Devon behind and he wasn't sure if this group could cope with that level of depression, fear and apathy twice in one month without everything falling apart. Yale tightened his grip on Uly and stared into the flames.

Danziger reached Devon's tent and stood outside, listening for any noise. He hoped she wasn't crying; he hadn't had much experience dealing with crying women. Ellie had never cried that Danziger remembered – she had been the toughest person he knew – and even True rarely cried, tantrums had been more her style as a small child. Very much her mother's daughter. Then Danziger shook his head. He had to go in, no matter what. He couldn't leaver her sitting there alone, not tonight. Danziger didn't bother knocking, knowing he'd be told to go away, but simply threw the door back and walked in.

"Go away." Good. It didn't sound like she was crying.

"No." Devon looked up from her seated position on the bed, taking her hands down from her face.

"I should have known it would be you."

"Why? Because I'm a kind, thoughtful, sensitive man?"

"No, because you never listen to a word I say." Danziger sat down beside her and dropped his teasing tone.

"I'm sorry, Dev." Devon glared round at him, searching for some sign of gloating, for a look in his eyes that said 'I told you this would happen'. But all she saw was sadness and sympathy.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. We all knew that the transrover wasn't designed for this sort of long-haul trek. You did a good job keeping it going as long as it did."

"Yeah, but still…" Devon nodded sadly.

"I was certain we'd make it, Danziger. Certain we'd have New Pacifica up and running by the time the colony ship arrived. Now we won't even be there when it arrives. All those people, those sick children, will land in an empty field. And they won't even know why. All they'll know is that I broke my promise. I'm afraid for them, John. They don't know what to expect here – they don't know all the dangers."

"Neither did we, Adair, and we've survived. Most of us."

"Most of us. I promised them _all_ a new life, Danziger. Most of them won't be good enough. And I keep seeing that other life pod. What if the colonists fall apart like they did, then they have no hope. We have been lucky." Danziger nodded, he couldn't argue with that. They _had_ been lucky. They'd only come across one penal colonist. The grendlers hadn't been able to completely empty the cargo pods, leaving them with vehicles. The terrians had – by and large – accepted them.

"And what if they're not so lucky. What if the ship lands right in the middle of a penal colonist stronghold? Or what if their first meeting with the terrians goes badly? Every time I think on it I see people – friends – dying. Murdered by deranged killers or simply rejected by the planet. Either way, they're dead." Devon's voice trailed away and tears began to stream from her eyes. Danziger surprised himself by acting without thought. He wrapped his arms around Devon and pulled her into a hug, as much for his comfort as for hers. The vision Devon saw was terrible and he could picture it as clearly as she. Danziger was a gruff man who was difficult to impress but he had always had a soft spot for children and the plight of the syndrome kids had always touched him, through the guilty relief that his daughter wasn't one of them. That was one of the reasons he had signed up for the Eden job – a good wage and the chance to help save the children, even if it was only an outside chance. And the image of those same children dying, scared and confused, horrified him.

When Danziger's arms enfolded her Devon tensed but then, almost immediately, she relaxed. It was too late to worry about appearing strong and tough in front of him. And besides, his hug felt good. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed into his shirt, letting all the fear and frustration and guilt flow out. Danziger stroked her hair and said nothing. She was glad he didn't try to reassure her, to tell her everything would be alright. They both knew that would be a lie.


	7. Chapter 7

Into the Setting Sun

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

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The next day dawned bright and clear and found most of the Eden Project gathered in the middle of camp, unsure what to do. For once, Morgan had been first up and had made coffee for everyone. Yale sipped at his and was mildly surprised at how good it was. He glanced up at Morgan, a compliment on his lips, but he thought better of it when he saw Devon and John leave her tent and head toward them. Looks of sympathy were directed at Devon from everybody but she ignored them as she strode up to the group, closely followed by the shaggy-haired mechanic.

"Okay, people, let's strike camp and move out. For the 'rover's sake we want to cover today's leg while it's still cool, so the earlier we start the better." The group glanced uncertainly at one another.

"We're keeping going?" Bess sounded nervous.

"Of course. We can't stay here. We still need to make it to New Pacifica."

"Devon's right. We don't have the resources to set up home here. We need the supplies from the ship."

"So we need to keep moving. Even if we don't make it to New Pacifica in time to meet the colony ship we can at least get there as soon as possible after they land."

"That way we can warn them of the dangers, hopefully before anything goes wrong for them." The group nodded slowly, although both Yale and Julia raised an eyebrow at the obviously prepared speech that had been delivered by Devon and Danziger.

"So let's getting going, everybody. You all know your jobs."

They managed eight and a half kilometres that day before Danziger signalled for a halt. Devon didn't argue, she just told everyone to set up camp, a smile on her face to hide the grimace that had fought for control when she saw Danziger's hand signal. At this rate it was going to take them more than twice as long to reach New Pacifica – and that wasn't counting any time they would lose due to winter. Every time that thought crossed her mind Devon had to fight back tears. The night before she had cried on Danziger's shoulder until she was exhausted, until she thought there were no tears left in her. Based on the evidence of this morning, however, she was wrong about that. And so her day had been emotionally trying as she struggled for control – it was one thing to break down in front of Danziger but there was no way she as going to do it in front of the others.

That thought brought Devon to a sudden, physical halt. She stood still, several feet away from the 'rover and tried to figure out when she became so comfortable around Danziger that the idea of crying on his shoulder didn't bother her at all. Last night she'd been too upset to think about how unusual that was for her. Devon had always prided herself on her strength. She _never_ cried in front of people. Even when Uly was diagnosed she had saved all her tears and shed them in the privacy of her bedroom. And yet last night she had spent almost an hour crying in the arms of a man she had known less than a year.

Sure, in that time she had come to think of him as a friend but still… What did this mean? Would she have accepted that sort of comfort from whoever walked into her tent last night? Where the tears inevitable, would they have come even if had been Bess who had come to check on her, or Baines? Or even Yale? A large part of Devon wanted to answer 'yes' to that question, to place no importance on the identity of her comforter. But her innate honesty wouldn't let her. Deep inside she knew that she would never have lost control like that in front of the others. Which brought her back to the question, what did this mean?

Devon smiled slightly as she realised that with Danziger – of all people – she had found a type of friendship she had never experienced. Rich, remote, intimidating, obsessed Devon Adair had not had many friends in her life and she had never felt comfortable enough with any of them to let her emotions show. But Danziger – it seemed – was different. And Devon was inexpressibly glad because she doubted that she would be able to make it through the next few months without someone to lean on.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the very man she had been thinking of. He had come up on her unnoticed and now he laid a large hand on her arm.

"You okay, Adair?" Devon smiled at him, realising that the urge to cry had – at least for the moment – vanished.

"I'm fine." She looked at him for a minute and watched a slight shadow flit across his face at her words. Julia's advice came back to her and she realised that the doctor was right. Danziger _was_ worried about her. Devon felt a twinge of guilt and decided to talk to John, to confide in him. She couldn't think of him as a friend and refuse to trust him, not even when she was terrified of his reaction. And so, as he turned to leave, she reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Would you walk with me a while, John?" Danziger hesitated slightly before nodding and Devon realised that her constant brushing off of his concern was hurting him. She regretted that and acknowledged that she could not consider him a friend, or expect him to consider her one, if she continued to push him away. Smiling nervously at Danziger, Devon inwardly resolved to make some changes, to be more open with him, more honest.

Devon and Danziger walked away from the rest of the group followed by one or two concerned and curious looks. The two continued in silence until they reached the nearby tree line. As soon as she was sure they were totally out of sight of the camp Devon gestured for Danziger to sit. She joined him on the ground and, avoiding eye contact hesitantly summarised Julia's findings on her genetic changes. She left nothing out, despite her fear of Danziger's reaction. After she finished there was silent for a moment and then Danziger spoke.

"And you're stable now?" Devon nodded still looking at the ground.

"Julia says she doesn't expect any more genetic changes. But I don't think she's really sure – she keeps telling me that this is all new ground for her."

"But she knows what's she's talking about when she says you're healthy, and that's what really matters. Anything else we can deal with." Devon risked a glance at Danziger and found him looking steadily at her. She saw no fear or distaste in his eyes.

"We?" Danziger nodded.

"You're not on your own, Adair." Devon frowned slightly.

"Julia might be wrong. There might be more changes coming. Huge ones. Nobody knows."

"You're not on your own, no matter what happens. That's a promise Devon." Devon smiled gratefully at him, his unquestioning acceptance and support making her feel more confident than she had at any time since Julia had found the first sign of genetic change.

The two friends sat in silence for a while, neither in a hurry to return to the campsite. Danziger leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes. He stayed that way that Devon began to think he had fallen asleep. She decided not to disturb him – neither of them had slept the night before, they had spent the night fruitlessly trying to find a solution for their problem. Instead, she imitated his position and allowed her body to relax. Nothing had really changed – they were still thousands of kilometres from New Pacifica, with no hope of arriving there on schedule – but Devon felt better. Danziger's promise resonated in her mind. Never alone. That thought made Devon smile. She could feel sleep overcoming her but she decided not to fight it.

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Julia put the finishing touches on the med-tent, reflecting wryly that she probably spent more time setting up and packing away her equipment than she spent doing anything else. Except maybe walking. And, by the looks of things, that's the way it was going to remain for the foreseeable future. Put up camp, rest, strike camp, travel, put up camp… Julia shuddered. It had been bad enough when they had believed that it would be over in a few months – that before next winter they'd be settled permanently, probably still living in tents but at least not constantly moving. But yesterday that hope had been crushed beneath the stalling wheels of the transrover.

One small mechanical failure and the future of everyone in the group had changed, along with the future of all the people currently asleep aboard the colony ship, people who didn't even know it yet. Julia shuddered again. She hated to imagine what could happen to those colonists. She forced the thought from her mind, falling back on her medical training – deal with the here and now, do what needs doing now, let the future worry about itself. A doctor could not function if she allowed worry about the future to overwhelm her. Medical school had taught Julia that principle, years of working with Syndrome children had reinforced it and her genetic alterations made it easy for her to put it into practice. So Julia stopped for a few moments to compose herself and then Dr. Heller left the med-tent. She looked around, noticing immediately that, despite their fear and grief, the group had set up the camp as quickly and efficiently as usual. Julia saw that as a good sign.

Julia headed over to Devon's tent, concerned about her friend. She had watched Devon carefully all morning and had seen beneath the confident smiles and calm acceptance. Julia had watched as, on at least two occasions, Devon had fought off tears. And so now Julia hoped she could convince Devon to talk to her. The doctor in Julia knew it wasn't healthy to suppress emotions like that – that if it went on too long breakdown was inevitable.

Last night she had hoped that Devon would confide in Danziger but she had had her doubts that that would happen. Devon had been resolute in her refusal to talk to Danziger about her genetic changes, despite his evident concern. Julia suspected that Devon was afraid of her reaction, that, no matter how hard Devon denied it, his opinion of her was to important for her to risk lowering it. After Danziger had walked away from the fire the previous evening Julia had watched Devon's tent for a while, expecting the mechanic to be thrown out. She was glad when that didn't happen and it had given rise to the hope that Devon had relented, that she had taken advantage of the ear – and the shoulder – Danziger was offering.

But then this morning Devon and Danziger had come out of her tent and Julia knew that her hope had been vain, that Devon had stuck to her guns. Devon had been too cheerful and confident as she delivered her little speech and it was clear to Julia that she and Danziger had spent all night discussing nothing more personal than the group's next move. That speech they had given this morning had obviously been prearranged. And, equally obviously, Devon had still been carrying the weight of her fears and emotions by herself.

It was one thing to talk about this latest setback but Devon had more problems than that and she needed to sort them out. Julia firmly believed that John was the person best placed to help her with this but Devon equally firmly disagreed. And clearly, despite Julia's hopes, the events of yesterday had not acted as a catalyst in this respect – Devon had not felt overwhelmed enough to give in and confide in John. And so now Julia felt obliged to step in and act as Devon's confidante, even though it went against her instincts. She reached Devon's tent and shook the door to ask permission to enter. Uly's voice answered.

"Come in." Julia slipped through the door and found Uly and True sitting on the ground, playing cards.

"Hello, Uly. Is your mum not here?" True rolled her eyes to indicate what a stupid question she thought that was – obviously no one else was in the tent – but Julia ignored her.

"No, Doctor Julia. She went for a walk with Danziger in the forest before we put the tents up. Yale and Bess had to help me and True."

"That was over an hour and a half ago." Uly just shrugged and returned his attention to his cards. True, on the other hand, looked concerned.

"Do you think they're in trouble?"

"No, of course not, True. One of them would have called in if that was the case. Devon never moves without her gear." True relaxed and nodded. Julia smiled at the two children and left the tent. Despite her words to True, she was slightly concerned. It wasn't like either Devon or Danziger to wander off without telling people where they were going and it certainly wasn't like them to vanish when there was work to be done. Julia began to walk quickly towards the small grove of trees, briefly considering the idea of calling Yale or Alonzo to go with her. She decided to go a short way on her own and see if she could find the two leaders without panicking anybody else.

Their tracks weren't hard to follow through the long grass and within three minutes Julia had reached the place where the other two had entered the trees. She hesitated momentarily and then continued onward, checking to make sure that her gear was ready to transmit, just in case. The sun was starting to set and the trees cast long, dark shadows on the ground. Julia could hear small creatures rustling in the undergrowth and she had to fight the urge to run back to camp. She'd not yet gotten used to the idea of sharing living space with animals and rodents and insects – some of which were extremely ugly – and the idea of them being out there where she couldn't see them frightened her. _I should have brought Alonzo._ Julia dismissed that thought, took a deep breath and began to pick her way through the shadows, tuning out the disturbing noises. She had not gone far when she entered a small clearing and came across a sight that chased her fear of wildlife away.

Devon and Danziger were sitting slumped under a huge tree. He was leaning on the tree and she was resting against his shoulder. They were both unconscious. Julia ran across the clearing, cursing herself for not bringing her diaglove. As soon as she reached them, however, she realised that it didn't matter, that she wasn't going to need any of her equipment. John and Devon were merely asleep and, up this close, they looked pretty comfortable. John had one arm wrapped around Devon's back and she had one hand resting on his upper thigh.

A smile slowly crept across Julia's face. It looked like she was wrong about last night. Lying there now Devon looked more at ease than she since her recovery. It was clear she'd finally decided to share her burden. Julia's smile widened as she fully took in the way the two were sitting. Maybe she was even more wrong about last night than she had thought. After all, the two of them had been in Devon's tent an awfully long time. Julia hoped that this time she was right – at least then one good thing would have come out of this 'rover disaster. And it would be good for both of them. Julia left the sleeping couple and began to pick her way back to camp, smiling at the thought of the looks on everybody's faces when she shared her news.


	8. Chapter 8

Into the Setting Sun

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: See chapter one, if you really care that much.

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When Julia arrived back at camp she found everybody around the fire, with the exception of Uly and True. Julia seized the opportunity to fill her glum-looking friends in on what she had seen in the woods. The information was received with glee – even by those who were usually leery of jumping to conclusions. The Eden Advance group needed some good news, something other than the recent disaster to focus their thoughts on, and the subject of Devon and Danziger had long been a popular conversation topic. When Julia finished speaking Alonzo chimed in, grinning.

"It looks like you owe me a small fortune, Baines. You too, Morgan."

"No way."

"Not until it's proved."

"You heard what Julia saw."

"Yeah and it could mean anything."

"Uh-huh. Do you often sneak off into the woods to snatch a quick nap with someone you're not sleeping with?" Baines and Morgan scowled.

"It's not proof, Solace. And I should know, I'm a lawyer." Alonzo rolled his eyes.

"Fine it's not proof. But even you two have to admit it's suspicious." Reluctantly, Morgan and Baines nodded. They couldn't argue with the fact that it seemed suggestive. I was starting to look like Alonzo had been right that night in the biodome when he and Denner had argued so heatedly with Morgan and Baines on the subject of Devon and Danziger's relationship. Morgan began to seriously regret agreeing to the bet. He _hated _losing, especially losing money. Yale had watched this exchange with amused tolerance but he suddenly spoke.

"We need to keep this to ourselves." Morgan screwed up his face in exaggerated confusion.

"To ourselves?" He waved his hands around to indicate that the whole group was there, listening. Yale sighed, sometimes Morgan was hard to take.

"We shouldn't allow Devon and Danziger to hear what we suspect. If Alonzo is right and what Julia saw means what we think it does then we need to be careful. I don't think any of wishes to do something that might ruin it for Devon and Danziger. Do we, Morgan?" Yale suspected that Morgan would do pretty much anything to make sure he didn't lose the bet.

"No. No, of course not." Yale nodded although he was not entirely satisfied. He would just have to rely on Bess keeping her husband under control. Alonzo grinned around the group.

"Yale's right. But it doesn't mean that we can't keep our eyes open – I'll share the winnings with anyone who brings me proof. And it doesn't mean we can't have fun with this. I mean, how funny is the idea that they're sneaking around, trying to make sure we don't find out, while we know and are trying to make sure that they don't find out that we know!" Everyone chuckled, even Yale. Alonzo was right. This could be fun.

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Bess left the laughing group around the fire and headed back to her tent. She was convinced Julia's suspicions were right and she was very happy for Devon and John but she had been feeling tired ever since she got up this morning and she wanted to grab a nap before cooking dinner. Hopefully a little sleep would get rid of the headache that was slowly building up behind her eyes. She lay down on her cot and closed her eyes gratefully, falling asleep almost instantly.

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Mazatl was the first person to notice when Devon and Danziger came out of the woods. He called out a greeting to them, slightly more loudly than was necessary. His voice attracted the attention of most of the group.

"We were starting to worry about you two. You were gone an awfully long time." Devon glanced briefly at Danziger before responding to Julia, a fact which didn't go unnoticed by the watchers.

"We wanted to sort out the route for the next few days. It took longer than we thought it would." Julia nodded, appearing satisfied, and the group heard Danziger sigh in relief. Alonzo, fighting a grin, muttered something about finishing with his tent and hurried off. The rest made similar excuses and wandered away, more convinced than ever that Alonzo was right. Why would they lie if they had nothing to hide?

Danziger watched Alonzo's retreating back, a frown on his face. Alonzo was up to something, he was certain of it. He just didn't have any idea what it was.

"That was…strange." Devon's expression mirrored Danziger's, although hers was directed at Julia.

"Just a bit." Danziger glanced at Devon, making eye contact with her for the first time since their rather awkward awakening a few minutes before. Even now Danziger felt vaguely uncomfortable about the position the two had found themselves in although he wasn't sure why. After all it had been entirely innocent. He made up his mind not to think about it any more. Instead he focused his attention on this new puzzle.

"They're up to something, Danziger."

"No doubt about it."

"I just wish I knew what it was." Danziger simply nodded before heading off to find True. He searched everywhere in the camp with no luck, even checking with Uly who said that he hadn't seen her for a while. Eventually, Danziger decided to try their tent even though he knew True refused to spend more time indoors than absolutely necessary. Consequently, he was very surprised to find her fast asleep in her bed. He tucked the covers up under her chin, careful not to disturb her. If she was asleep at this time of the day she must have been _really_ tired. Usually, nothing short of the threat of dire punishment could convince True to take a nap. After watching her sleep for a few moments Danziger went to give the 'rover a quick once over, just in case.

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Giving up, for the moment, on trying to figure out what was going on with Julia and the others, Devon spent the afternoon working on the topographic printouts of G889, doing the work she'd used to cover her little nap with Danziger. Concentrating on finding a route that was as fast as possible and yet, at the same time, would provide no difficulties for the 'rover kept her mind off how she'd felt when she woke up that afternoon. Nervous, embarrassed and, frighteningly, comfortable. Sitting in the shade of her tent Devon promised herself that she would never think of that incident again. Her work took her the rest of the afternoon and she didn't move until Bess called everyone for dinner. Handing her bowl to her friend Devon was startled to notice how tired Bess looked.

"Are you okay?" Bess smiled at her, wanly.

"I'm just tired, Devon. And I have a bit of a headache."

"Have you seen Julia?"

"It's not bad enough to bother her with. I probably just need a good night's sleep. I'll go and talk to her in the morning if it's not gone." Bess even sounded tired.

"You should go to bed early."

"As soon as dinner's over, I'll be gone." Devon nodded and walked over to sit beside Danziger who was handing a bowl to a groggy, yawning True.

"I have those routes marked out. You should take a look at them." Devon spoke quietly, not wanting the others to hear that the maps were only just done. Sitting across the fire from them Alonzo nudged Baines and gestured toward the two leaders, sitting with their heads close together, talking quietly. Baines scowled.

"I'll do it tonight." Devon nodded and turned her attention to her dinner.

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Alonzo made his excuses shortly after dinner and headed off to his tent. Julia waited a few minutes before following him, accompanied by smiles and muttered comments from the rest of the group. They were fooling nobody. Julia shook her head as she wandered over to Alonzo's tent. Maybe _they _should starting sneaking off into the woods. Julia found it hard to cope with the idea that everyone knew every time she and Alonzo decided to have sex. Suddenly she felt a burst of sympathy for Devon and Danziger. Maybe she'd suggest to Alonzo that they back off, leave the other couple alone. It was with this thought in mind that Julia ducked through the door of Alonzo's tent, a smile on her face.

"Alonzo, maybe we…" Julia's voice trailed off as she looked down at her sleeping lover. So much for their plans for the evening. Sighing she lay down beside him, trying to decide whether it was better to stay in the tent and have everyone thinking they were doing something they weren't or to go out there and let everyone know he was asleep. In the end her pride dictated that she stay in the tent where she could avoid jokes about her not being worth staying awake for.


	9. Chapter 9

Into the Setting Sun

By Oonagh.

Disclaimer: You know where to look.

Author's Note: Sorry for going so long between updates. My computer contracted a virus last week and was really quite ill for a while. He's up and about now, however, and so things should shortly be back on schedule. And to make up for it I'm posting a longer section than I'd planned to. Hope you enjoy it.

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Danziger finished his dinner and returned to his tent before unrolling the map that Devon had discreetly handed to him. He spread it out over several crates and sat down on the edge of his bed to check the route Devon had chosen. Almost immediately, however, he spotted a problem. He stared for a moment, sure he was wrong, and then rolled the map up again and headed over to Devon's tent. On the way he noticed that she was still sitting at the campfire, talking to Denner. Slipping his map into his belt, he walked over to the two women.

"Adair, can I have a word with you?"

"Sure, Danziger, what is it?"

"In your tent, if that's okay." Devon raised her eyebrows but nodded anyway.

"Can you give me a few minutes? Denner and I just have a few things to finish here." Danziger nodded and turned to walk away. He was stopped by Denner.

"Go ahead, Devon. We can finish this in the morning. It's not important, anyway." Devon and Danziger both frowned; they could see no reason for the grin that had suddenly appeared on the quiet young woman's face.

"Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh. Go and… do whatever it is you need to do." Denner walked away toward Baines and Walman, still smiling. Devon and Danziger headed toward her tent.

"You made a mistake with the route, Adair." Devon frowned.

"I thought I was careful. I made sure I didn't try to go over any rough terrain."

"Yeah, the 'rover would have no problem with the route you chose. But you plotted a route due north."

"What? Don't be ridiculous." Danziger didn't reply. They had reached the tent and he raised the flap for Devon to enter. Then he spread the map out on her bed and gestured at it. Devon stared down at it, dumbfounded. Danziger was right. She had plotted a route that would take them in entirely the wrong direction.

"What…how…I…" Danziger nodded emphatically.

"That's just what I said. What were you thinking, Adair?" Devon shook her head, still staring at the map.

"I was a little distracted when I did this, Danziger, but I don't see how I could have missed _this_. I spent hours plotting that route, how could I not have noticed at some point?"

"Distracted? By what?" Danziger was extremely puzzled by this entire incident but no more so than by the idea of Devon getting distracted while working – she was the most single-minded person he knew. To his astonishment his question caused her to flush.

"Nothing in particular. I just couldn't seem to concentrate."

"But still, that's a pretty drastic mistake to make."

"I know. I can't explain it, John. I'll redo the map this evening." Danziger nodded in agreement and left the tent but he was still unhappy. Devon's explanation – what there was of it – hadn't reassured him and he was worried. What if Julia was wrong and Devon wasn't completely healthy, what if her illness had left some residual mark on her mind?

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The next morning the group was once again packed and on the move very early. Devon even insisted that they eat a cold breakfast while travelling. Everybody grumbled at that, except Bess who was grateful she didn't have to cook. Her headache had faded but, despite almost twelve hours of sleep, she was still extremely tired. She handed out Spirolina bars on automatic, ignoring the disgruntled remarks of her companions. Bess hoped they didn't have to go far today and then she felt guilty for wishing that. She knew how important it was that they go as far as possible each day. And so she plodded along at the back of the group, Morgan at her side. For once she was glad that Morgan wasn't a morning person because at least that meant he was walking in silence. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with her husband's griping.

Bess glanced up at the 'rover, wistfully. Danziger was driving and True was in the passenger seat. Bess really wished she could swap places with the girl but today wasn't her day to ride. She had been tempted to bribe True into swapping with her but she hadn't wanted to aggravate Danziger; Bess was slightly nervous of him when he was angry. And so Bess stumbled along, squinting in the bright spring sunshine.

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Before they had been travelling for ten minutes True fell asleep. Danziger kept glancing at her in concern. He had had difficulty getting her up that morning which wasn't terribly unusual but it really wasn't like her to nap during the day and this made two days in a row. He hoped she wasn't sickening for something. With one hand, he checked her forehead for fever. Nothing. He relaxed slightly but decided that if she still seemed off colour by bedtime he would get Julia to look at her, just in case. He returned his full attention to driving, even though today's route had been programmed into the 'rover.

Thinking of the route brought another small worry to the forefront of Danziger's mind. Devon. She claimed she had been distracted the previous afternoon when she messed up the route but Danziger still wasn't sure that that was a good enough explanation. He wasn't sure that _anything_ could be distracting enough to make you spend a whole afternoon designing a route that would take you in entirely the wrong direction. But, though he'd tried, he couldn't think of a better explanation. And things he couldn't explain always worried Danziger. And on this occasion he was even more worried, knowing what he knew about the recent changes to her DNA.

He'd watched her closely that morning but she had seemed perfectly normal, bustling around the camp issuing orders and chivvying everybody along. He had stopped watching her when he realised how much he was enjoying it, had caught himself smiling and remembering the feel of her hair against his cheek. Devon was starting to worry him on more than one level.

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Julia sat beside Alonzo in the Dunerail. They'd been travelling now for almost an hour and she was starting to worry slightly about her lover. He'd slept solidly all night and she'd had to shake him forcibly to waken him that morning. And even now, as he drove the 'rail, he was constantly fighting off yawns. Twice he had come close to losing control of the vehicle. When it happened a third time she opened her mouth to suggest that she should drive. Before she got a single word out, however, she was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of Morgan panicking.

"Julia! Someone get Julia. Hurry up. Hurry up!" Alonzo halted the 'rail and both he and Julia ran to where Morgan stood over Bess's prone body.

"What happened?"

"She just collapsed. One minute she was walking along and the next she was on the ground."

"Has she complained of feeling ill?"

"No. No, she was fine." Devon, who had rushed up with the rest of the group, cast Morgan a disgusted look.

"She had a headache yesterday, Julia, and she said she'd been feeling very tired." Julia looked up from where she knelt on the ground, scanning Bess with her diaglove.

"We need to stop. Sorry, Devon." Devon shook her head, dismissing the apology as unimportant.

"Just make sure she's okay, Julia. We'll set up camp here. Come on, Morgan, let's go and let Julia do her work." Morgan shook his head, terror and panic plain on his face.

"No, I'm staying. I'll be quiet, I swear. But I can't leave. I _need_ Bess." Julia shrugged and Devon removed her hand from Morgan's arm. The group moved away and began to set up camp, every one of them quiet and subdued. Denner brought Julia some blankets to place under Bess's head, stopping to squeeze her friend's unresponsive hand.

The med-tent was erected first and Bess was carefully placed on the bed. Julia supervised this and then took Morgan, Devon and Danziger aside.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know yet, Morgan. I'll have to run more tests. But I do know she's very ill."

"Well, are you treating her?"

"I'm keeping a close eye on her."

"An eye on her? What the hell kind of doctor are you? Do something! You can't just leave her lying there, that's unacceptable. You…" Devon placed a firm hand on Morgan's arm and interrupted him.

"Do what you can, Julia. And, Morgan, that sort of behaviour doesn't really help." Morgan had the good grace to look ashamed.

"I know. I'm just frightened and I don't handle fear well." Devon nodded and spoke firmly.

"You need to learn, Morgan. For Bess's sake." Morgan took a deep breath, visibly trying to calm himself.

"I'd do anything for Bess."

"We know that, Morgan. Now go be with your wife." Devon glanced sharply at Danziger. That was the first time she'd ever heard him being nice to Morgan. He saw her glance and shrugged, his eyes following Morgan's departing back.

"What he's going through now, I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy."

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True and Uly sat inside the Danziger tent. Yale had told them to stay put, to make sure they didn't get in anyone's way. Both children had taken this order calmly, much to Yale's shock. True hated being told what to do and detested being treated like a child yet this time she hadn't made so much as a peep. She had simply nodded and sat down on the edge of her bed. As soon as Yale left Uly got out their much-used pack of cards and began to deal them out. True stopped him.

"I don't want to play, Uly. I'm just going to lie down." Uly looked on in astonishment as True lay down on her cot and, almost instantly, fell asleep. He watched her for a minute to see if she was joking and then he shrugged and settled down on the ground to play solitaire. He had been playing for less than ten minutes when he was dramatically interrupted.

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Morgan remained by Bess's side for the rest of the morning, holding her hand and begging her to wake up. Julia sat at the other end of the med-tent and ran her tests, occasionally checking on Bess's condition. Devon supervised the setting up of camp and then decided to go and sit with Morgan. She couldn't bring herself to like the man very much but no-one should have to be alone at a time like this. Devon entered the med-tent only to discover that someone else had had the same thought. Danziger sat on a pile of crates not far from where Morgan sat bent over his wife, stroking her hair.

Devon stopped momentarily, shocked. Danziger was the last person she expected to see watching over Morgan. But then she remembered Ellie. Danziger rose as soon as he saw her and Julia made her way over from her work bench. Morgan did not move, or even look up.

"Has there been any change?" Julia shook her head.

"No. I'm still running tests but I haven't found anything yet. The good news is she seems stable – at least for the moment. There's been no deterioration in the last half hour."

"Well, that's a good sign."

"Maybe." It was Danziger who spoke this time and again Devon thought of Ellie, the woman Danziger had loved, who had been medically stable for years – no deterioration and yet no improvement either. For the first time she began to appreciate what Danziger had been through. Suddenly his tendency toward pessimism began to make sense. She smiled at him, trying to show him she understood. What he saw in her face she didn't know but he nodded and smiled back. Devon felt her smile widen – she hadn't seen Danziger smile often and it was nice. Suddenly she felt a tug at her sleeve.

"Mum." Devon jumped and then flushed with embarrassment when she realised that she'd been so caught up in watching Danziger smile that Uly had come up on her unaware.

"Mum?" Uly sounded slightly mystified at his mother's odd reaction to his arrival.

"Yes, honey, what is it?"

"I have a message for you. Two messages, really. From the terrians."

"You've been on the Dreamplane?" Devon couldn't help the note of concern in her voice. The very existence of the dreamplane still made her nervous.

"No. They came to see me. Through the earth."

"Here?"

"Yes, in John's tent. They said they've an important message."

"Well, what was the message, Uly?"

"Um. You don't need to worry. About Bess I mean. She'll be fine. It's just their turn."

"Their turn? What do you mean, Uly?"

"Their turn to change, Doctor Julia. Like mum." Julia's shoulders sagged in relief.

"So Bess isn't sick?"

"No. She's just joining with the planet." The adults heaved sighs of relief but then Danziger focussed in on something Uly had said.

"Wait. Uly, you said 'their'. Who else?" Uly smiled, excited by what he was about to tell his friend.

"Alonzo…and True." Danziger had begun running out of the tent before Uly had even finished speaking. Julia stood, stunned, torn between her desire to check on Alonzo and her sense of duty which said she should stay with her patient. Devon gave her a small shrug in the direction of the door.

"Go. I'll watch Bess." Julia nodded once and then moved away, diaglove in hand. Devon turned to Morgan, ready to placate his inevitable objections to Julia leaving only to discover that Uly's entrance and announcement had gone entirely unnoticed by him, so absorbed was he in his wife. Devon watched in amazement as he continued to stroke Bess's hair and mutter to her, oblivious to the outside world. She decided to leave it to Julia to break the good news that the terrians had promised that Bess would be fine. She felt another tug on her sleeve and resolved to break her son of that habit. She looked down at Uly, who looked puzzled.

"Is John mad?"

"No, honey, he's just worried about True."

"But True's fine." Devon just nodded, unable to find the words to explain that Danziger didn't feel about the terrians the way Uly did, that he didn't trust what he couldn't understand, and that parents' fears for their children were not always rational but were always powerful. Devon knew that last from experience – she had had a hard time accepting Uly's cure, of letting go of the fears that had haunted her for almost eight years even when she knew they were no longer necessary. Uly stared at her for a moment and then spoke again, dismissing the earlier subject.

"Mum, the terrians sent a message for you too. Sort of. They wanted me to tell them why you're not listening to the planet. She's trying to tell you something important but the terrians say you're ignoring her."

"Her?" Uly shrugged.

"The terrians think of the planet as their mother. That makes her a girl, right?" Devon smiled slightly at her son's literal interpretation of metaphysics.

"I guess. What is the planet trying to tell me?"

"I don't know. The terrians didn't say, I don't think they know either."

"Okay, well _how_ is the planet trying to talk to me? Uly shrugged again.

"I don't know. I tried to ask, really, mum, but the terrians didn't seem to understand my question. I'm sorry." Devon ran a hand through his hair and smiled down at him.

"That's okay, Uly. I guess I'll just have to figure it out by myself." Uly nodded and grinned, happy that his mother wasn't disappointed in him. Devon opened her mouth to speak again but as interrupted by the tent flap flying open and Danziger running through, carrying a clearly unconscious True in his arms. He looked around frantically.

"Where's Julia?"

"She's gone to get Alonzo. She'll be back in a minute."

"I need her _now_. I can't get True to waken." Uly opened his mouth, a puzzled expression on his face, but Devon placed her hand on his arm and motioned for him to remain silent.

"She'll be here momentarily, John. Why don't you put True into bed, have her ready for Julia." As she spoke Devon placed a hand on Danziger's back and gently steered him toward the bed that sat across the tent from Bess. He went unresistingly, too stunned and frightened to argue against someone who sounded so calm and in control. With Devon's help he slipped True in between the blankets. Then he sat down beside the bed, True's tiny, fragile hand clasped in his larger, rougher ones. Devon squeezed his shoulder briefly and then left the tent, taking Uly with her and sending him to find Yale. She met Julia just outside the tent door. The doctor was being followed by a groggy-looking, but conscious, Alonzo and the two were engaged in an argument.

"I tell you I'm fine, Julia. Just tired. I'm sure if something was going on the terrians would have told me."

"They told Uly."

"Yeah. But Uly has a very active imagination, Julia. Who knows if this is just another of his stories." At this point Alonzo noticed Devon standing in front of them and he winced.

"No offence, Devon." Devon ignored him, speaking instead to Julia.

"I was just coming for you. Danziger brought True in. She's unconscious." Julia nodded and slipped her hand into the diaglove before entering the med-tent.

"Alonzo, follow me." Alonzo glanced at Devon and then ducked through the door. Devon hesitated a moment and then followed.


	10. Chapter 10

Into the Setting Sun

By Oonagh

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The rest of the day passed very slowly for the Eden group. Alonzo lost consciousness two hours after his enforced confinement in the medtent. After that, however, there was little change in the three patients. Julia kept a close eye on them, watching for the deterioration she knew was to come.

Morgan and Danziger never left the medtent and paid little attention to those people who periodically popped in for updates and to let them know that everyone was thinking of them.

Devon spent a lot of her time sitting with Danziger, her recent resolution to be a better friend still resounding in her heart. He paid little attention to her a first but, towards the end of the day, as True started to get worse, he reached out and clutched at her hand. Devon winced slightly at the force of his grip but she said nothing, happy to give whatever support she could.

Throughout the night they sat like that, watching as the young girl grew paler and weaker. Devon wished there was something more she could do but she knew from experience that there was nothing, that the pain of watching your child suffer could not be alleviated by anyone or anything. And so she settled for holding his hand, watching as he talked to True and prayed for her recovery.

Devon believed they had nothing to worry about but she understood Danziger's fear – the fate of his daughter was in the hands of something he didn't understand and his daughter was the very centre of his universe. If things went wrong John stood to lose everything. Devon didn't try to say anything to reassure him; she hoped that her very presence would do that – after all she had been through what True was going through and she was still alive.

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Just before dawn, Bess died. Morgan's terrified sobs brought Julia running from Alonzo's side, diaglove in hand. Devon gently detached herself from Danziger and turned to Morgan.

"It's okay, Morgan. This is supposed to happen. Just wait."

"She's dead, Devon. Dead. This isn't working, she's dead." Morgan put his head in his hands and began to rock back and forth. Julia and Devon stoked his back, trying to comfort him, both a little frustrated by his characteristic panic. Julia had explained to him what would happen; he knew what was going on. Devon tried to explain it again but Morgan's sobs didn't lessen. As time passed his panic increased and his sobs grew more frantic.

Devon winced as she saw the effect that this had on Danziger. With each minute that passed his back became more hunched. He never once looked away from True but Devon could tell that his attention was focussed on Bess and Morgan.

After ten minutes Julia began to look worried and she once again scanned Bess. No change. Julia couldn't stop the frown that appeared on her face. It hadn't taken this long for Devon to come back. Devon saw Julia's look and she closed her eyes, trying to remember some of the prayers that Yale had taught her as a child. In the end she had to improvise. _God, we love these people. Please don't take them away. Stay with them. Keep them safe._

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Forty-five minutes later – a lifetime for those clustered in the medtent – Bess was still dead and True took her last, rasping breath. Danziger began to weep silently, tears of fear rather than grief. Devon left Morgan to Julia and pulled the huge mechanic into a tight hug. He clung to her with one arm, the other had still clutching True's. Devon didn't speak – there was nothing to say, not in the face of what had happened with Bess.

Fifty-five minutes was much too long. Bess was truly dead. Julia had stopped scanning her, had given up hope. And Danziger knew all that. He knew that what was currently happening to his daughter had already killed his friend.

The tent was silent except for the irregular sobs of Morgan and the hoarse breathing of a rapidly deteriorating Alonzo. Danziger made no noise as he cried into Devon's shirt. It was all Devon could do to hold in her own tears. But crying now would not help anybody. She could grieve for Bess later. For now, she concentrated on praying that they would not lose anybody else. But she did so with a heavy heart, unsure if the God who had ignored her earlier prayer was really listening. Unsure if he even really existed.

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Before five minutes had passed Devon's faith in the divine was restored. A sudden sound from True drew the immediate attention of everybody in the medtent. The girl coughed and struggled to sit up, only to be gently pushed back down by Julia. Devon tried to move away from Danziger, to give him some privacy with his daughter, but he kept a firm grip on her hand.

"Hey, True-girl. Stay still now. Let Julia check you over."

"What's going on? Why are you crying, dad?" True sounded panicked; she had never seen her father cry before.

"I'm just glad you're okay, kiddo." True looked puzzled.

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be? I _never_ get sick." Danziger merely nodded, finding it difficult to speak. Devon squeezed his hand and he squeezed back, grateful for her support. He choked back the tears that were still threatening and focussed on the fact that, even though he had nearly lost her, True was alive and talking. Julia finished her scan and moved away, nodding. Danziger laughed. His daughter was okay. He let go of Devon's hand and swept True into his arms. He hugged her tightly until she began to struggle.

"Da-ad!" Danziger laughed again. He should have remembered that she hated to be cuddled in public now. But he didn't put her down.

"Let's get you back to our tent, True-girl." He stood up and strode away, pausing only to cast a smile at Devon.

Morgan's eyes followed Danziger, envy and something darker shining out of them. Devon saw this and she understood and sympathised. She couldn't imagine how Morgan must be feeling. Julia moved away to check on Alonzo – it was clear from the sound of his breathing that he wouldn't last much longer – and Devon placed and arm around Morgan's shoulders.

"Come on. Morgan. There's nothing you can do here now."

"I'm not leaving. Not now. Not ever. Not without Bess. Never without Bess." Morgan still held his wife's hand firmly in his own. He was staring down at her intensely as though willing her to wake, as though his love should be enough to bring her back.

"Morgan, it's been too long."

"No! No. You can't know that. Bess will wake up. She wouldn't leave me – she knows I can't cope without her. She'll wake up soon." Morgan's words were confident but his tone was laced with panic. Julia walked over and joined Devon in her attempt to move Morgan away from the body of his wife. They didn't want him to be present when Alonzo's time came. It was bad enough that he'd had to watch True's recovery and Danziger's unrestrained joy.

"I'm afraid not, Morgan. Bess is gone. I'm sorry."

"I don't believe that. I _won't _believe that. Not Bess. She will wake up. And I'll be here when she does." Devon and Julia exchanged looks, despair writ large on their faces. There was nothing else they could do. They couldn't force Morgan to leave. And so they continued to keep vigil over their two friends, over Bess and Alonzo, the dead and the dying.

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Alonzo died at noon. Julia and Devon sat by his side, hoping and praying that he would react like True and not like Bess. Morgan had stopped sobbing but he still refused to leave his wife. Julia kept her eyes fixed on Alonzo's face but she didn't shed a single tear. She kept her professional mask firmly in place – right now Alonzo was her patient, not her lover. But as the moments ticked by the line between the two began to blur and Julia could feel her emotions begin to overwhelm her. Just as she felt her walls collapsing, Alonzo took a long, loud breath. Then he gave opened his eyes and gave one of his lopsided grins.

"I _told_ you there was nothing wrong with me, Doc." Julia choked out an almost hysterical laugh and then she flung herself into his arms. Devon glanced away from their increasingly passionate embrace, slightly embarrassed. Her gaze came to rest on Morgan just in time to watch him collapse.

"Julia. Julia!" To the doctor's credit, she snapped back into professional mode almost immediately. She ran her diaglove over Morgan.

"He's just fainted. Exhaustion and stress, I suppose. I should have expected it. He's been through a lot today." Devon nodded sadly and then gave voice to a truth that neither woman wanted to speak.

"And the worst is still to come for him. Once the shock fades, he has to face life without Bess." Alonzo looked shocked and Julia briefly explained what had happened. Grief filled Alonzo's face. He'd always liked Bess. And, for once, he could sympathise with Morgan. He didn't know what he would do if he ever lost Julia. With this thought playing in his mind, Alonzo helped Devon lift Morgan and carry him to his tent. On the way they passed the excited crowd that had gathered around the door of the Danziger tent. Happy voices and laughter rang clearly through the air and Alonzo winced, glad that Morgan could not hear it. Clearly, nobody had broken the news of Bess's death. He glanced at Devon and she shrugged.

"Let them have a last few minutes of joy. It won't change anything." Alonzo and Julia both nodded and, sombrely, the three continued on their way to Morgan's tent.


	11. Chapter 11

Into the Setting Sun

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Author's Note: Sorry that this update took so long but for some reason I found this chapter really hard to write. I did three completely different drafts and wasn't really happy with any of them. This one was my fourth and I'm still not entirely happy with it but here it is anyway. Sorry if it's not up to scratch. Any suggestions for improvements will be gratefully received.

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The next morning Devon woke early, out of habit. She wanted nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep, to put off the new day as long as possible, but she knew she couldn't. There was too much to be done. And, besides, she wanted to be up before the sedative Julia had given Morgan the night before, after they had put him to bed, wore off. He shouldn't be alone on the day his wife was to be buried. And so Devon forced herself out of bed, clenching her teeth against the cold spring morning. It never ceased to amaze her that the sun could shine so brightly and yet the temperature keep so low.

She was just buttoning her shirt when the early morning stillness was broken by a piercing scream. Devon immediately ran out of her tent but she stopped stock-still just outside the doorway. What she was seeing shouldn't be – couldn't be – possible. Denner was standing beside the small cook fire, her arms around a puzzled looking Bess. Devon's paralysis lasted only a moment before she ran and threw her own arms around Bess, reaching her only moments before most of the rest of the eden group did. Everybody reached out to touch Bess, to confirm that she was real, that she was alive and breathing. Bess looked increasingly mystified.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?" Devon exchanged glances with Julia and Danziger. What was the best way to tell someone that they had been dead, that you were just about to go and dig their grave? In the end, it was Julia who answered, her voice as distantly professional as Devon had ever heard it.

"You went through the same change as Devon, Bess. But it took you a bit longer to come around. We were getting slightly worried."

"I was _dead_?"

"Physically, yes."

"Oh. Okay. I guess that explains why I woke up in the medtent, although I thought it couldn't be anything serious or Morgan would…"

"Morgan!" Julia and Devon spoke at once.

"I'll wake him." Julia ran off in the direction of the Martin's tent. Bess looked puzzled again, confused by the panic and guilt she saw on her friends' faces. Danziger hastened to reassure her, in his customary blunt way.

"Its okay, Bess. Morgan's fine. Julia had to sedate him last night, that's all."

"Sedate him? What for?" Danziger glanced at Devon who shrugged. There was no gentle way to put this.

"You were gone for a long time, Bess. Over twenty-four hours. Julia declared you officially dead yesterday evening. We thought you weren't coming back. I guess we were wrong." Bess blinked at him.

"You mean I was really dead?"

"Um, we thought so."

"Well, at least that explains why Morgan wasn't…Oh my god, Morgan!" The look on her face made it clear that the implications of Danziger's statement had sunk in. She shrugged off the arm Devon had placed on her shoulders and turned to go to her tent. She stopped as she saw her husband standing in the doorway, Julia by his side and a look of disbelief on his face. She smiled at him and he broke free of Julia's supporting arm and ran to her. He took her face between his hands and gazed intensely at it before speaking.

"Are you a dream?" Bess smiled again.

"No, Morgan honey, it's me. I'm alive. I'm fine." She reached out a hand and wiped the tears from her husbands face. He buried his head in her neck and sobbed as she stroked his hair. Devon and the others moved away, smiling, to give the couple some time alone.

"So, are we travelling today?" It was Baines who interrupted the happy silence. Devon looked back at Morgan and Bess, who were now sitting side by side, heads close together.

"No. I think today we'll stay here. We should have some kind of celebration to mark this." Yale nodded.

"Miracles should always be celebrated. We should show our gratitude." Devon looked around to see if anyone objected to the idea of staying but no-one did.

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The rest of that day passed quickly. Everyone threw themselves wholeheartedly into the plans for the celebration. Denner chased Bess away from the cook fire and began cooking a special dinner. Everybody laughed when they heard her say that, knowing that it would be exactly the same as every other dinner they'd eaten for weeks. But, today, nobody minded. By the time dinner was ready, it was dusk and everybody gathered at the fire bathed in the red of sunset. Dinner that night was the happiest and noisiest since they had landed on G889. Devon passed Danziger the planned route for the next day but he didn't open it and she didn't pester him to – tonight was not a night for work or for bickering.

After dinner Alonzo yelled for everybody's attention. When silence eventually fell, he spoke.

"Bess, it's good to have you back. You have no idea how happy that makes us, or how important you are to us and there are no words that can tell you. So I'm not even going to try…" Danziger broke in, laughing.

"Eloquent as always, Lonz." Alonzo ignored him and continued speaking, nervously playing with his water cup.

"Anyway, I have something to tell you. I…we…decided last night but weren't going to say, not the way things stood. But everything's different now so we changed our minds. Um. Julia and I are getting married." Alonzo spoke the last sentence so quickly that it took the group a while to realise what he had said. When they did everybody began speaking at once, offering congratulations, advice and jokes. Julia was hugged by everyone and she looked almost overwhelmed by the response. Alonzo stood beside her fending off the jokes and looking like the cat that got the cream. As Danziger remarked the next day, smug didn't even begin to describe his expression.

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For Danziger, the next day started earlier than for everyone else. He still had to upload the route into the 'rover's directional computer. He rolled himself out of bed quietly, trying no to waken True and made his way grumpily to the 'rover. He rubbed repeatedly at his eyes in an attempt to waken himself up. He had stayed up much too late the night before – everyone had – and now he was regretting it. The days when he could get by on a few hours sleep were long gone. He figured that meant he was getting old.

Reaching the 'rover, he unrolled the topographic printouts that Devon had given him the night before. And then he began cursing. This was the last thing he needed this morning. Devon's idea of a stupid joke. He scrunched the papers up in his hands and headed over to the Adair tent, determined to give her a piece of his mind. Didn't she think he had enough work to do?

He strode into Devon's tent, not bothering to remain quiet as he knew Uly had stayed over with Yale after the party last night.

"Adair." He got no answer.

"Adair, wake up. Come on, open your eyes." As he spoke he reached out and shook her, none too gently. She jerked upright, eyes half-closed and hair in her eyes.

"What? What's wrong?" Danziger had had a very pithy speech prepared but looking at her now he forgot every word. He had always known that Devon Adair was a beautiful woman but that had never really mattered to him, it had merely been an objective observation. In the last few weeks, however, that had started to slowly change. He'd found himself watching her more and more. At first he had told himself that it was merely to reassure himself that she was really and truly all right. But after a while he could no longer use that as an excuse and he had tried to force himself to break the newly acquired habit. He'd failed. Surreptitiously he had watched her interact with the others, had watched her smile, frown, lose her temper and laugh. Once or twice he had even watched her sleep. But never ad he seen her look quite as beautiful as she did at the moment, confused and dishevelled by sleep. He couldn't help but smile and he felt all his ire melt away.

"Danziger? What are you doing in my tent? Have I overslept? Is everything all right?" Devon's stream of questions reminded Danziger of why he was there. He tried to make himself look stern and angry but he suspected that he wasn't being very successful.

"You're not funny, you know."

"Pardon?"

"Your little joke, Adair. Do you not think I have enough to do?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. What joke?"

"These." Danziger waved the crumpled maps at her.

"Those are the route maps I gave you yesterday."

"Yes, they are."

"And?" Danziger could feel his anger building up again as he began to build an immunity to Devon's appearance. But then he looked her face. She looked genuinely puzzled and slightly concerned.

"You really have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"None whatsoever. So maybe you could enlighten me. What's wrong with the maps?"

"Exactly the same as last time. You've plotted courses for three days and every single one of the routes would take us due north." Devon shook her head in disbelief.

"No. How…why…I don't understand, Danziger. One time could be dismissed as a mistake but this…this is different. There's something going on here."

"That's pretty clear. But what?"

"I have no idea." Danziger cleared his throat nervously.

"Maybe you should go and see Julia. Just in case."

"Just in case of what? In case I'm losing my mind? Is that what you think?" Devon sounded angry but Danziger could also hear faint undertones of panic in her voice. She was afraid.

"No, of course not, Devon. But you have been under a lot of stress lately and…"

"Stress? You think I'm _stressed_ and I've suddenly started trying to drag us all off course? So what, this is my subconscious trying to tell me that I've had enough, that I should give up, stop trying to reach New Pacifica?"

"I don't know, Devon. That's why I think…" Danziger trailed off, interrupted by a sudden bark of laughter from Devon. His concern deepened. Maybe this was it. Maybe Devon _had_ reached breaking point. As her laughter continued he reached out to touch her arm, to try and bring her back to reality. She didn't seem to notice but she did stop laughing and begin speaking.

"That's it. I've been so stupid. Uly told me. The Terrians told me. The planet even told me. It couldn't be clearer. We have to go north. Starting today. Plot the new courses, Danziger. I know what I'm doing now." Danziger frowned at her. Despite her claim that she knew what she was doing he was still concerned. That explanation hadn't made much sense. To him it had sounded as if she was rambling. Since when had she been in contact with the Terrians?

"Are you sure, Devon? If we go north it'll take us away from New Pacifica. I thought you wanted to get there as soon as possible."

"I do. And we will. But only if we go north."

"I don't understand."

"The dreams, Danziger. They were a message from the planet. The Terrians who talked to Uly told him that the planet was trying to talk to me. With all the commotion of the last couple of days I totally forgot. But they were right. I just didn't understand before."

"But you do now?"

"Yes, it's so clear. I'm not dreaming about the east coast. You, Julia, Alonzo and I are standing on the _west_ coast. I can't believe I didn't realise it earlier. Every time I dream the comm. dish is there, sitting in the sand, just like in the picture the grendler had. We're standing right beside it, watching the sun set over the ocean. Watching the sun set in the west. I'm dreaming about New Pacifica, John."

"That's hardly surprising, Adair. New Pacifica is always on your mind. On all our minds. I've dreamed of it a few times and I'd be willing to bet that everybody else has too. But that doesn't mean anything." Devon shook her head, frustration plain on her face.

"But I'm different now, Danziger. I'm connected to the planet, just like the Terrians. And the planet is talking to me, just like it does to them. And because I was ignoring it, it started to take more drastic action. The topographic charts, Danziger. Those routes _were_ my subconscious trying to tell me something. But it isn't trying to tell me that I'm overwrought and stressed. It's trying to get the planet's message through. We need to go north."

"But why?"

"Because that's how we'll get to New Pacifica."

"I can't believe this. You're basing this on a few dreams and a couple of…of clerical errors. And for this you're willing to put us who knows how long behind schedule? We're already going to be late and, frankly, if we take any lengthy detours now we'll be lucky if the vehicles make it at all."

"You know as well as anybody how significant dreams can be here. And this is going to make things easier for the vehicles, Danziger. They won't have to travel anywhere near as far. We'll be in New Pacifica in no time. Well ahead of schedule."

"How? What's in the north that's going to perform this magic? Do you even know?" Devon shook her head.

"No. I just know that north is the best route. I don't know why or what awaits us there. I just know we need to head that way."

"That's not good enough, Adair. You want to put us all at risk for the sake of a few dreams and I can't allow that. I won't allow that." Devon smiled sadly.

"Do you trust me, John?"

"You know I do."

"Then trust this. I _know_ it's the right thing to do." Danziger stared down into her earnest face for a moment and then he shrugged.

"We'll have to put it to a vote."


	12. Chapter 12

Into the Setting Sun 12

By Oonagh

Disclaimer: See Chapter one

Author's Note: A short chapter, I know, and I'm sorry but I've been hectically busy. I'll try to get the next instalment up some time this week, but no promises. Hope you all enjoy.

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Danziger left Devon's tent that morning full of doubt and conflicting emotions. He trusted Devon, there was no question of that. At one time, maybe, he had felt differently but not now. Now he would put his life in Devon's hand without hesitation. But this…this was different. How was he supposed to know that this _was_ Devon? She'd been through a lot – physically and emotionally – recently. She'd been ill. She'd lost a chunk of her life. She'd been generally altered. She'd watched Bess die. And all of that had to have taken a toll. How was he supposed to tell if stress was pushing Devon over the edge?

On the other hand, Danziger knew that strange things happened on G889. More things were possible on this planet than Danziger had ever even imagined. And dreams were important here, he couldn't argue with that. Ever since landing her they'd been guided, instructed and warned through dreams. Was this just the same?

As he swung the flap of Devon's tent back and stepped outside Danziger cursed softly. He wasn't built to deal with this sort of thing; he'd never been any good of it. So absorbed in his own thoughts was he that he didn't notice Denner until he bumped into her.

"Sorry."

"It's okay, Danziger." Denner was grinning, her gaze flickering between Danziger and the tent he'd just left.

"You're up and about early, Danziger."

"Yeah, well, I've got to input the new routes into the 'rover."

"Do you want me to do it? Then you can go back to whatever you were doing." Danziger looked down into Denner's grinning face, confused.

"That's okay, thanks. I'm awake now anyway."

"Okay." Still grinning, Denner headed away.

"Hey, Denner. There is one thing you could do. Tell everyone there'll be a meeting after breakfast, would you?"

"Sure thing." Denner's grin didn't fade and Danziger stared after her, puzzled. He hadn't seen Denner smile as much in the whole three years he'd known her as she had in the last few days. Even allowing for Bess's resurrection, she seemed a little too happy. Almost as though something was amusing her. What it could be, though, he had no idea.

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When Danziger arrived back at the cook fire after breakfast – having wanted to avoid being questioned about the meeting while he ate – he was greeted by Alonzo who still wore a small, smug smile.

"Hey, Danz. Did you sleep well last night?" Danziger raised his eyebrows.

"Sure. Why?"

"No reason." Alonzo's smile had grown, although now it was directed at a scowling Baines. Danziger shook his head. _Everybody_ was acting crazy this morning.

Danziger stood at Devon's side as she explained what was going on to the rest of the group. Her explanation was a lot more articulate than the one she had given him earlier in her tent. But to Danziger it still sounded nuts. He said nothing though, convinced that the rest of the group would say it all for him. He cursed himself as a coward but he didn't want to hurt Devon, didn't want his friend to think he didn't trust her.

He closed his eyes and let the debate wash over him, trying to pinpoint exactly when things had changed between him and Devon. Not long ago he wouldn't have hesitated to speak his mind even when he _knew_ it would piss her off. But now…now the idea of upsetting her, upset him. Something was wrong and Danziger was determined to figure out what it was so he could fix it. Suddenly, his daughter's voice pulled Danziger back into the present.

"I had a dream, too." The rest of the group quietened at True's uncharacteristically nervous pronouncement. They all turned to stare at her and she flushed.

"What do you mean?" Devon made her voice gentle.

"Since I got changed, I've had the same dream. Sort of, anyway. The last two nights."

"What did you dream?"

"I saw New Pacifica. I've never been there but I just knew that that's where it was. Me and Uly were playing in the sea while the sun set. It was _so_ cool." Danziger shook his head and opened his mouth to speak but was beaten to it by Bess.

"I dreamed, too. Last night I dreamed several times. The same dream over and over. Morgan and I were sitting on the beach. I was holding our son and we were watching the sun set out over the ocean. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Morgan gaped at her, stunned by the existence of even a dream-baby. Alonzo heaved a heavy sigh.

"I've had the same dream. Almost identical to Devon's, actually. Her, Danz, Julia and me on the beach with the comm Dish. Setting sun and everything." The group was silent. When it had just been Devon's dreams, that was one thing. This was something else altogether.

Danziger smiled slightly. He felt better now. He didn't have to worry that Devon was cracking up. He didn't have to worry about hurting her by arguing against her, by convincing everybody to vote against her, to vote against going north. Now all he had to worry about was why the idea of hurting Devon bothered him so much. A few months ago he wouldn't have hesitated to argue against her, to fight her every step of the way. But that morning he had looked into her eyes and had backed down. And then he had spent two hours psyching himself up to oppose her at the meeting – and that had been a lot harder than it should have been. Danziger was forced to admit that things between him and Devon were changing. He just didn't know why or in what way or how he could fix it. All he knew was that he wanted things back to normal, back to the days when fighting with Devon seemed as natural as breathing.

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By the time the group finally moved out it was almost noon. Magus was driving the 'rover – after receiving strict and detailed instructions from Danziger about what danger signs to be on the lookout for. Baines was riding with her, grateful to be out of the bright sun that hovered low in the sky at that time of year. Julia and Alonzo were in the 'rail; they'd been inseparable since their engagement.

True was in the ATV, bringing up the rear of the vehicle convoy. She wasn't normally allowed to drive on their daily trek but, with a child's unerring instincts, she was taking full advantage of her father's relief at her survival. Uly was jogging along beside her, quizzing her on what it felt like to be part of a planet. True was mostly ignoring him.

Danziger strode along close behind his daughter, reluctant to let her out of his sight even though he knew she was fine. For the first time he began to understand Devon's over protectiveness after Uly's cure. The kind of fear he had felt watching his daughter die took a long time to go away. And Devon had watched her son die for years. Maybe it was that shared experience that had precipitated the change in his relationship with her. Although he suspected that the change had started before True's illness. He just wished he could pinpoint when it – whatever _it_ was – had started.

Morgan and Bess brought up the very rear of the convoy, walking along holding hands, the very picture of connubial bliss. Devon started the day walking just behind the 'rover, trying to convince herself that there was no reason to be nervous. After half-an-hour she gave up and dropped back to join Danziger.

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I know you didn't want to go this way."

"The vote was unanimous, Adair. I voted to go north, too."

"But you're still not happy with it." Danziger shrugged.

"I'll not be happy until I see some definite proof that there's something for us this way."

"There is, Danziger."

"We'll see."

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Nine kilometres later the Eden Advance convoy ground to a halt in a small grove in the middle of a large forest. The group immediately went about setting up camp, albeit on a smaller scale than usual, with all the tents clustered much closer together than normal.

As had become their habit, Danziger, True, Devon and Uly put up first the Danziger tent and then the Adair tent. When they had finished Uly and True were sent off to Yale for their lessons. They both went happily, a fact which never ceased to amaze Danziger. When they first landed on G889 Danziger had never imagined that he'd see the day when True went to class enthusiastically.

"I don't think I've ever thanked you for that, Adair." Devon looked mystified.

"For what?"

"For allowing True to sit in on Uly's lessons with Yale." Devon frowned.

"They're True's lessons, too." Danziger nodded.

"I know. So thanks."

"Don't mention it, Danziger. Every child has a right to an education."

"No wonder the Council tried to blow you up, Adair, all those liberal ideas you spout." Devon smiled wryly and hit Danziger lightly on the arm. He grinned and the two walked towards the campfire in comfortable silence. Just before they reached it Danziger reached out and placed a hand on Devon's arm, drawing her to a halt.

"Speaking of crazy ideas…I take it that whatever we're looking for isn't here?" Devon shrugged.

"No. At least I don't think so. I'll assume I'll know when we reach wherever it is we need to be. Right now all I know is that we need to keep going north. Maybe my dreams – our dreams – will tell us differently tonight." Danziger merely nodded. He hated that all of this depended on dreams he didn't even share. Then again, he wasn't sure he'd be willing to pay the price required to have those particular dreams.

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	13. Chapter 13

I know this is kind of breaking the rules but I could think of no other way to let people know what's going on with this story.

I recently started a new job and I have to undergo 1 month of residential training. I didn't realise until I got there that I would have absolutely no internet access whatsoever. Even this little paragraph is being posted by someone else.

This means that although the story is still being written (it's almost finished actually) I will probably not be able to post anything for another three weeks. I apologise for this and thank you for your patience. Please don't give up on the story because of the delay.

I promise I will resume posting as soon as possible and ask that until then you bear with me.

Thank-you,

Oonagh


	14. Chapter 14

Into the Setting Sun

By Oonagh

Author's Note: I am so sorry for the long gap between posts - training for my new job was a lot more intensive than I anticipated. That part's over now, however, so hopefully posting will be back on schedule. Thanks for your patience…

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For four days the Eden Advance team travelled north, through heavy forestland. Devon woke each day confident in the decision she had made. Her dreams remained constant for the most part although small changes appeared each night, almost as if her dreams were a living vision of the future, changing with events of the present. Julia and Alonzo were still present but they had moved slightly further down the beach and were always sitting hand in hand, totally absorbed in one another. Devon was always standing by the comm dish, staring at the sunset. And every night Danziger was there, standing at her shoulder, so close that she could reach out and touch him. So close that she could feel his breath rustle her hair. The dreams left her feeling rested and revived – feeling better than she had in a long, long time.

On the fifth morning Devon collected her breakfast from Bess, asking the same question that she had asked for the last four mornings.

"Are you still dreaming?" Bess nodded, giving the same answer that she had given for the last four mornings.

"Yes. We're still headed the right direction." Devon smiled and nodded and took her breakfast over to where Danziger was sitting with True. Both of them stopped eating to watch her approach, knowing what was coming. True pre-empted the inevitable question, knowing what Devon wanted to hear.

"I had that dream again last night, Devon. But this time Uly fell in the sea, and he got soaked and he sat on a crab and he squealed and ran away."

"Don't speak with your mouth full, True-girl." True made a big show out of swallowing and rolled her eyes at Devon, who grinned back. Danziger shook his head. For the last few days Devon had been as bad as the kids. Danziger had never seen her so relaxed and full of life and he had to admit that he was enjoying it.

But mixed with that was a tinge of worry. Despite the confidence Devon, Bess, Alonzo and even True were showing about this trek north Danziger was still concerned. Concerned that the dreams weren't telling them what they thought they were. Concerned that things wouldn't go as planned. Concerned that this would all end with Devon crying in his arms again. There was only so much stress and heartbreak a person could take before they broke down completely.

Sitting beside her now, eating breakfast and watching her laugh with True and Uly, Danziger worried about her. He could clearly recall the few days immediately following her recovery and he was terrified of losing this happy, laughing Devon to the pale, empty shell that had been with them for those days. Afraid of losing her and never getting her back. He woke up every morning feeling this and, every morning he had to force the negative thoughts to the back of his mind, just so he could get through the day.

For Danziger, the last four days had been awful on that level. But on another level they had been the best five days since landing on G889. No danger, no trouble, no drama. Just long sunny days and laughter. Each day started the same – breakfast with Devon and the kids – and ended the same – under the 'rover, trying to keep her running.

And, for the last three evenings, Devon had settled herself on the ground by the 'rover to plot the routes for the following day on her maps. She'd muttered something, that first evening, about it being more efficient if she could check the routes with him as she went along.

This argument made sense, but Danziger was puzzled as to why she'd reached that conclusion now. He'd briefly wondered if she had started to realise their relationship was changing, too but he'd dismissed that thought immediately. Devon was acting normally toward him – it was just him that was changing. That thought made Danziger unaccountably disappointed – it wasn't as though he _wanted_ things with Devon to change but he'd feel better if he wasn't the only one feeling confused, if he wasn't the only one remembering waking to the feel and smell of sun warmed hair against his face.

The evenings spent with Devon sitting beside his legs passed quickly. They worked mostly in silence, interrupted only by the occasional route-related question. Despite this it was nice – a gentle and relaxing end to a series of gentle and relaxing days. But the worry was still there, a deep, nasty undercurrent in a peaceful looking river.

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The fifth day of the trek north went just as the preceding four had done, with a few exceptions. Bess spent most of the day fighting against nausea; Morgan spent most of the day panicking. The forest had finally ended and at around midday the Eden crew had walked out of the tree cover onto a plain which stretched slightly ahead of them and ended in a series of rugged, rocky hills.

Danziger looked at these hills with a kind of resigned dread. Devon just shrugged, her faith immovable. She _knew_ they'd find a way to get to where they needed to be. Danziger tried to absorb her faith, but he failed. Maybe Devon was right, he reflected, maybe pessimism had just become a way of life for him – always expect the worst and you'll never be disappointed. Standing beside a bouncy, hopeful, optimistic Devon, that thought made him feel sad.

That evening, the forest a distant memory and the hills growing ever closer, camp was set up quickly and efficiently. Julia asked Bess to drop in for a check-up but Bess assured her she was fine. Morgan kicked up a fuss but Bess stood her ground, putting her nausea down to the sun and her recent resurrection. Julia supported this theory, telling Morgan that physical responses to psychological stress weren't unusual. Morgan wasn't happy but he finally shut up, much to the relief of the rest of the group. Still muttering, he carried his cases over to his tent, followed by a tolerantly amused Bess.

Alonzo and Julia – still inseparable – vanished into the medtent to set up her equipment and get some time to themselves. Yale, True and Uly began classes in the Adair tent, the two children tired, grumpy and reluctant. Pushing True gently but firmly through the tent door Danziger felt a jolt of sympathy for Yale. He didn't envy the tutor his job, not tonight. After watching everyone set off about their business – a habit from the days when Devon was gone that he hadn't been able to break – Danziger headed over to the 'rover, sliding himself under it with an ease born of practice.

Five minutes later he was unsurprised to see Devon's feet come to a halt beside him. He stopped work briefly to slide out and greet her, just as he had for the past three nights. To his surprise she wasn't setting out sheets of paper on the ground. Instead, she was sitting with her legs drawn up and her arms wrapped around her knees, a far away look on her face. She didn't even look around at him but he could tell she knew he was there.

"What do you think it will be like, John?" Without any explanation Danziger knew what she meant.

"You know better than me, Adair. You've seen all the stats."

"That's not… I mean what do you think the colony will be like? What will it be like to live in New Pacifica?" She finally turned to face him, her gaze intense and dreamy at the same time. Danziger opened his mouth to reply and then realised that he didn't know what to say. He had never given much thought to New Pacifica other than as a goal, a destination. He closed his mouth again and shrugged. Devon nodded.

"It's hard to picture, isn't it? When we left the stations I knew exactly what the colony would be like – but only in so far as the hospital went. That was all I cared about – curing Uly and the others."

"Well, that problem's been solved. Uly's as healthy as any other kid."

"I know, and every day I thank God for that. But he has paid a price for it, Danziger."

"No price is too high for that, Devon. I understand that now, after True…" Devon nodded, understanding the thought he couldn't articulate.

"But will everybody on the colony ship feel the same? G889 is a scary place, you can't deny that."

"Of course it's scary – it's a new world. Nobody is going to expect it to be just like the stations. Nobody sane, anyway." Devon nodded again.

"I'm just a little…concerned. I've given so little to how New Pacifica should run. Now I'm getting frightened that it won't work, that I'm not strong enough to make it work."

"Where did this come from? You've been so optimistic, so confident." Devon shrugged one shoulder.

"I'm still confident we'll make it to New Pacifica, Danziger. The planet knows what he's doing. But that's why I'm nervous – we're so close, I can feel it. It's time to stop worrying about how we'll get there and start thinking about what we'll do when we get there."

"Let's not borrow trouble. We can sort out New Pacifica once we get there and figure out how things are. And just remember, if we've managed to survive so far we'll be all right. So long as we stick together." Devon nodded and then smiled slightly.

"That sounded awfully like optimism, Danziger."

"Yeah, well, if you tell anyone I said that that, I'll deny it."

"I wouldn't dream of it! No one would believe me anyway."

"Very funny."

"Who's joking?" Danziger pushed her shoulder gently in mock offence and she laughed. He nodded.

"That's better. Enjoy this bit of peace and quiet while we have it. And knowing this place, it won't be for long."

"Ah-hah. The old Danziger is back. Mr. Pessimism himself." Danziger rolled his eyes and pointed out that it wasn't his fault she couldn't tell pessimism from realism – all that money had blinkered her. She responded in kind and Danziger reflected with amazement that it wasn't long since that the differences in their upbringings and social status had been a matter for fights, not jokes. He definitely preferred it this way. Danziger relaxed back against the 'rover, almost shoulder to shoulder with a smiling Devon, realising that he was going to get no work done that evening. And he wasn't complaining.

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	15. Chapter 15

Into the Setting Sun

By Oonagh

Danziger awoke early the next morning, reluctantly pulling himself out of bed to carry out the vehicle inspection he should have done the night before. Tired though he was, however, he couldn't bring himself to regret the evening spent with Devon. For over two hours they had sat beside the 'rover talking and laughing. For once Danziger had allowed himself to relax in her company, not worrying about where their relationship was and where it was going. And it had worked. The time had passed pleasantly and too quickly, leaving Danziger content – it seemed like a long time since he'd spent time around Devon without feeling confused and a little frightened.

Rubbing his eyes in a vain attempt to waken himself Danziger walked through the not-quite-dawn to the 'rover and set to work. He didn't bother with the flood lights; he didn't want to waken anyone else. Clutching a torch he wriggled under the 'rover, got himself as comfortable as he could and began inspecting the underside for any damage.

Twenty minutes after starting his work his good mood had vanished. Every time they stopped to camp he found little bits of damage to the 'rover and it seemed like every day he found a few more than the day before. This morning was no exception – the wear and tear damage that had occurred since the day before defied belief. Danziger cursed as he welded a small patch on a leaking pipe. This couldn't go on – the 'rover wasn't going to take much more of this. And when the 'rover packed in they were all finished, no doubt about it.

By the time Danziger had finished his repairs the rest of the camp was up and about, most of them huddling around the fire waiting on breakfast. A pale-faced Bess was stirring at the huge pot. Danziger made a mental note to talk to Julia about her when Morgan wasn't around. Then he shook his head. That wasn't his job anymore. It never ceased to amaze him how hard it was to give up leading, to break the little habits he'd developed while in charge of the group. Sometimes he had to remind himself that all he was responsible for was the vehicles – and that was more than enough, especially at the minute.

Danziger took his breakfast from Bess, who assured him she was feeling fine, just a little tired. He wasn't sure he believed her but he just nodded. Carrying his bowl he headed over to where Devon was sitting with True, Uly and Yale. True and Uly were giggling at something Yale was saying, Devon watching with a small smile. Danziger stopped short of the group and watched them for a moment, putting off the discussion he knew he was going to have to have with Devon – putting off wiping the smile away.

"Morning dad." True was the first to notice him. Her voice brought the attention of the others.

"Morning." Danziger forced a smile to his face and sat down on the edge of True's crate.

"You look tired, Danziger."

"Had to get up early to check the vehicles."

"Didn't you do that last night, dad?"

" Nah. I didn't get a chance." Danziger noticed a guilty look flit across Devon's face and he hastened to reassure her.

"I found something better to do, True-girl. Was having too much fun to think of fixin' things." Danziger addressed his words to his daughter but he kept his eyes focussed on Devon. She smiled at him, clearly pleased at his statement. He smiled back, glad she'd understood the message. A small sound from Yale – maybe a cough, maybe a snicker – brought a flush to Devon's face and she looked away. Danziger's smile widened. Maybe he wasn't the only one confused about their friendship.

As soon as she finished her breakfast Devon left the fire, muttering something about maps and route-plans. She hurried toward her tent, anxious to get far away from Danziger and Yale. Devon had always hated making a fool of herself and acting like a blushing school-girl in front of Yale and Danziger certainly came into that category. She was going to have to do something – that wasn't the first time recently that she'd been so caught up in watching Danziger smile that she'd forgotten about everybody else around her. And that wasn't good. Her relationship with Danziger was changing. Their friendship had become the closest she'd ever had. And it was too important to her to risk it by behaving like a school-girl with a crush. She had to get a grip of herself, start acting her age.

Striding into her tent she grabbed the route sheets and headed back out to pass them on to Danziger, resolving to act calm and dignified – the best she could hope for was that he hadn't noticed her stupid behaviour. She found him still sitting with True at the fire. His daughter had curled herself up at his side and he had one arm slung around her shoulders. Watching them Devon felt a sudden twinge of envy and then cursed herself for a fool. But that didn't stop the memory of waking up with him a position just like that on the forest floor and it didn't stop the smile that that memory brought to her face.

"Danziger, I've got the route mapped out for the next twenty klicks. Would you like to look it over?" Devon's voice came out cold and formal. Danziger raised an eyebrow at her, clearly confused and she felt herself begin to blush again. Hastily, she thrust the papers at him and hurried away. So much for her resolution.

"Adair, Wait up." Reluctantly, Devon looked around to see Danziger hurrying after her. She stopped walking and waited for him to catch up.

"We need to talk." Devon's blush returned and she nodded mutely. This was the last thing she needed.

" Look, there's no easy way to say this, Adair. The 'rover is not gong to make it through those hills. There's no way. It's having enough difficulty with flat ground." Devon nodded.

"I suspected that this would happen at some point."

"You don't sound too upset."

"I'm not. We don't have much further to go."

"That's irrelevant. I don't think the 'rover will take one day travelling over that terrain. So unless your dreams are suddenly a whole lot more specific than they have been…" Danziger let his voice trail off, his point made.

"I know we're almost there. What we're looking for is in those hills. I'm certain of that." As she spoke Devon turned to face the rocky hills that stretched for miles to the north and south. Danziger followed her gaze.

"That's a pretty big area." Devon nodded.

"It wouldn't take long to cover in the rail." Danziger nodded slowly.

"A week at most, probably."

"Then that's what we'll do. I'll take Alonzo and Julia and we'll go ahead. Everybody else can stay here until we find what we're looking for. When we know where we're going we'll work out a way to get the 'rover there. Does that sound OK?"

"Baines can handle the repairs – I'll leave him a list and True can give him a hand. There's nothing too complicated. When do we leave?" Devon looked at him silently for a moment. Some part of her knew she should be feeling irritated at his casual assumption that he was coming with her but she wasn't. Instead, she was feeling relieved and reassured. He'd promised that she wouldn't have to face all this alone and it looked like he meant to keep that promise. She smiled at him.

"As soon as we can. There's no point hanging around here." As she spoke the slightly anxious look on Danziger's face vanished in a smile. Devon made a conscious effort not to widen her own smile in response.

"I'll let everyone know. You can go over the repairs with Baines and I'll get Julia and Alonzo to help pack the rail." Danziger nodded.

"Yes, boss!"


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I'm glad people are still reading and enjoying. Things are settling down with me a bit now and I'm aiming to update regularly.

The first day of the reconnaissance mission went smoothly and passed quickly for all four people involved. Danziger drove with Devon seated beside him and Julia and Alonzo in the back. The doctor and pilot spent most of the day in silence, holding hands. Danziger had rolled his eyes the first time he had noticed that and Devon had given him an admonitory look. He'd shrugged, refusing to feel guilty about his constant teasing of the couple. As usual, Julia and Alonzo took absolutely no notice of him, too absorbed in each other to either see or care about his mockery.

Devon and Danziger also sat in silence for most of the day. Devon stared intensely at the Northern Horizon and Danziger watched mournfully as the terrain grew ever rougher. There was no way the 'rover was ever going to be able to come this way. When he expressed this concern to Devon, however, she simply shrugged and muttered that they'd work something out. Danziger wasn't so sure about that but he let it lie. He tried to ignore the rocky terrain – a difficult thing to do the way the rail kept bouncing about – and enjoy the peace and quiet, the unusual chance to spend a day without being surrounded by people and constant noise. The chance to spend the day without once having to hear Morgan's voice. That opportunity alone almost made this trip worthwhile.

Devon felt the man beside her relax and she smiled slightly in relief. He'd been tense all morning and she'd been worried that he was going to stay that way for the entire trip. And the last thing she needed right now was a surly, tense, monosyllabic Danziger. Especially with Julia and Alonzo the way they were – she wasn't going to get much in the way of conversation from either of them. Since they announced their engagement it was almost as if they had moved into a different world from everybody else – they always looked slightly startled when anyone spoke to them, almost as if they were surprised that anyone else was there.

By the end of the first day everybody was exhausted. Devon had kept them going until well after sunset when Danziger had put his foot down and insisted that they stop. For a moment he had thought that she was going to argue but she simply smiled and slipped out of her seat. Danziger followed her, lifting their bags from the foot well and tossing her bag to her, trying to ignore the way she moved as she stretched. This was really getting ridiculous. Maybe he shouldn't have come after all. Maybe a few days away from Devon Adair was what he really needed. A few days to get his head straight, to get things back to normal. But it was too late for that.

Camp was set up quickly and mostly in silence and dinner was consumed the same way. Julia and Alonzo rolled their eyes at Devon's insistence that they have a boys' tent and a girls' tent. Alonzo even opened his mouth to say that there was no point pretending, that everybody already knew about them but Julia, reading his mind, kicked him hard on the ankle. Danziger watched this exchange with confusion – there was something strange going on with the group. He exchanged glances with an equally confused Devon, who shrugged and headed off toward her tent. Julia followed, watched by a disappointed Alonzo.

"You'll survive one night without her you know." Danziger couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice. Alonzo merely grunted at him and Danziger grinned. The younger man stomped off toward the male tent, clearly unhappy with the arrangement. Danziger shook his head. He'd known Alonzo for years and he had never imagined that he'd see the day when the pilot would be moping because he had to spend a night away from his girlfriend. G889 had really changed Alonzo. Danziger walked after him, reflecting that Alonzo wasn't the only one who had changed. A few months ago Danziger would never have secretly hoped that Alonzo would win the argument and that he would get to spend the night in the same tent as Devon. A few months ago the idea of spending more time with Devon Adair than he absolutely Had to would have horrified him. Yep, this planet was definitely changing things.

If the next four days had gone as smoothly Danziger would have been over the moon. A simple, short reconnaissance mission with a positive result would have been nice. But Danziger knew from the start that that was too much to expect. And no matter what anybody said he knew he wasn't being pessimistic. So the fact that they woke on the second day to the first rain they'd seen for weeks didn't surprise him. And neither did the fact that the gorge through which they were trying to drive rapidly turned into a shallow fast moving stream.

He sat in the driver's seat of the 'rail with a look of resignation on his face which was mirrored on Julia's. Devon and Alonzo didn't even seem to notice the horrendous weather or the hazardous driving conditions. They'd both dreamed again the night before and had woken anxious to move out immediately. Julia and Danziger had had to force them to take time to eat. And now they were sitting silently, both gazes focused unwaveringly in a northerly direction. Danziger put the vehicle into motion, creeping slowly through the muddy water.

By lunchtime they were all thoroughly soaked. Danziger was rapidly losing patience with the two dreamers, who had spent all morning refusing to find a dry spot of ground to put the tents up and wait out the storm. Danziger had hoped that Julia would eventually intervene on medical grounds – driving around soaked to the skin couldn't be good be good for any of them – but she hardly seemed to notice, so concerned was she for Alonzo, who, along with Devon, had barely spoken a word all morning.

They ate lunch while moving and continued driving until visibility forced them to stop and set up camp. Even then Danziger was concerned that Julia would have to sedate Devon to get her to stop. But in the end she agreed provided that they could move out at first light. The four of them spent a damp, cold night shivering in their tents and then set out at dawn, grateful for the blue sky and early morning sun. Their still-damp clothes dried out quickly but that proved to be the only positive event of the day.

Alonzo and Devon were even more focused than they had been the previous day. Neither of them ate breakfast and they harried the other two over every lost minute. Danziger suggested that they wait at the campsite a while to give the route a chance to dry out, arguing that in the long run it would save them time if they could drive faster. Devon simply shook her head.

"We need to keep moving. There's no point hanging around here." Even as she spoke Devon was settling herself into the passenger seat of the 'rail. Danziger sighed heavily and eased himself in beside her. As he cautiously steered the vehicle back down into the gorge he reflected that she hadn't dismissed one of his suggestions so off-handedly since awaking from cryosleep. The day passed slowly for Danziger and Julia, with very little conversation. Even the scenery was dull and monotonous, nothing but rocks and gravel as far as the eye could see. The sunshine brightened things a little but not much. The camp that night was silent, no one inclined to talk. Devon and Alonzo seemed not to feel the need. They sat around the small fire, staring north just as they had all day. Danziger sat beside Devon, brooding on what he knew he was going to have to say the next day unless something changed.

The third day dawned sunny and clear and progress was much faster as most of the water had run away during the night. Danziger actually felt in better form, happier about the route and the overall mission. He still insisted on driving cautiously, conscious of the loose rocks lining the ground, Alonzo was as silent today as he had been the day before, actually leaning out of the rear seat as though by doing this he could arrive wherever they were headed sooner. Devon was much more talkative, but only on the topic of increasing speed or taking shortcuts. Danziger realised quickly that arguing with her did no good so after the third time she told him to speed up he began to deliberately ignore her. The speed of the vehicles was the one thing he could control on this mission.

For the second day in a row they ate lunch while moving, Devon overriding Julia's objections. Shortly after lunch Danziger drew the 'rail to a halt in front a large pile of rocks that blocked the route through the gorge. Alonzo leaped out of the 'rail and scrambled to the top of the pile.

"I'll guide you over, Danz." Danziger remained in the driver's seat and stared at his friend, incredulous.

"There's no way we're getting over that, Alonzo."

"Sure we can. It doesn't go back too far this direction."

"It's too high. And the rocks are too loose."

"Nah. It's pretty firm." Danziger shook his head but before he opened his mouth Devon spoke.

"Danziger's right. There's no way the 'rail will make it over that." Danziger's head swung around in shock. He had expected that Devon would be as keen to cross as Alonzo was.

" We should turn back now, we can still cover a lot of ground before dark."

"Turn back? We can't turn back. We have to keep going."

"But you just said…"

" We'll leave the 'rail here and continue on foot. We can carry everything we need." Danziger exchanged looks with Julia.

" So you know where it is we're going, Adair?" Devon shook her head.

"Not exactly. But I know we're heading in the right direction."

"But you've no idea how far we still need to go?"

"No."

"And you just want us to abandon the 'rail and start out on hike of who knows how long to who knows where?" Danziger couldn't keep the disbelief out of his voice but Devon didn't even seem to notice.

"Yes."

"I don't think that's a very good idea. In fact, I know its not a good idea. We're not prepared for a hike. It'll take far longer than driving and we only have supplies for a limited time."

"What do you suggest then, Danziger?"

"We should go back to camp. We can restock and head out again if we need to, make sure we've got all the right kit."

"I think we should keep going. We can at least go as far as our supplies will allow us."

"But…" Devon didn't even seem to hear Danziger speak.

"Julia, give me a hand packing the supplies into the packs." Julia looked over at Danziger who just shrugged. He could tell that Devon was determined to go on, that nothing he or anyone else said would stop her. And he wasn't prepared to let her and Alonzo go on alone, not in their current state. He and Julia had no choice. But that didn't mean he had to like it.

The little team scrambled their way over the landslide and continued on their way North, taking the most direct route, no matter how rough the terrain. Julia's frequent suggestions to detour over easier ground were ignored. Danziger didn't even bother to object. As the day went on he grew more and more resentful. He had though that the days of Queen Devon issuing edicts and expecting others to obey unquestioningly were long gone. And he'd grown used to her actually listening to his advice rather than asking for it and then ignoring it. She hadn't done that in a long time. But the Devon who had shown herself in the last few days was the Devon who had first landed on G889 – cold, distant and arrogant. Danziger was really starting to miss the woman who had become his friend.

Danziger and Julia walked behind the other two, who were practically running in their eagerness to reach their destination, wherever that may be.

"John, I'm starting to worry about them."

"Yeah, no kidding"

" I scanned Devon last night while she was sleeping." Julia sounded awkward, unsure of the ethical grounds of scanning a friend without her knowledge and consent. Danziger knew that ever since her betrayal of the group Julia had been very careful to make sure all her actions had been above board; she was keen to prove that she could be trusted. But at the moment Danziger didn't care. A sudden image of Devon's pale, dying face filled his mind.

"Is she all right? She's not sick again is she?"

"No. She's fine. But there's something odd going on here. I'm not sure that she and Alonzo are entirely rational."

"I won't argue with you there." Danziger forced the nightmare image back into the recesses of his brain where it usually dwelt, relieved beyond measure.

"What should we do?"

"What can we do? We keep going, make sure they don't do anything stupid. Well, stupider." The last two words were muttered as he twisted his ankle on a particularly wobbly rock. Julia sighed and nodded. The two returned their focus to the uneven ground, occasionally sparing a glance for the two people ahead of them who stumbled across the uneven ground, seemingly paying no attention to where they put their feet, their gazes fixed on the Northern horizon.


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: To everyone who is still reading, thanks for your patience. Reviews would be nice, let me know if I'm taking this the right direction and if you're enjoying the story.

By sunset of that day the group had covered much more distance than Danziger had anticipated, but he still did not feel any better about the whole enterprise. The terrain had grown rougher with each step they took and Danziger was convinced that even if they found whatever it was they were looking for in these hills there was no way they could get the rover and all their equipment up here.

He had mentioned as much to Devon a couple of times as the day had worn on, hoping that she would listen but not expecting it. And he was right – she simply waved off each objection, giving the impression that she was not even listening. Eventually he stopped giving his opinion, knowing it was pointless. By the time they stopped to make camp he was disgusted, frustrated and more than a little angry. And he made no secret of this fact.

………………………………………………………………………..

Devon watched as Alonzo and Julia sat side by side by the fire, his arm around her and her head on his shoulder. Julia seemed to be accepting what was going on without resentment. Unlike some. Devon's gaze slid to Danziger, who was sitting scowling at the fire, and she sighed. All day she had been listening to his concerns and she knew that they were valid. She knew that abandoning the rail and starting out on foot was foolhardy. She knew that there was no way the rover could make it across this ground. And she knew that every time she dismissed his concerns she was hurting him – the look on his face every time she did so told her that much.

Devon dropped her gaze to the ground, guilt making her stomach squirm. She had vowed to herself that she was going to be a better friend to Danziger and she knew that her behaviour of the last few days was seriously breaching that promise. She wished she could find some way to explain to him that she knew he was right, that a large part of her was screaming to agree with him, to turn around and head back to camp but that something was stopping her. It had gone beyond dreaming now. Something was pulling her north – a force so strong she could not resist.

Even now she could feel the pull, stronger because she was not moving. Movement eased the pressure somewhat but standing still, staying in one place, was almost physically painful. Devon knew that if Danziger and Julia had not been with them she and Alonzo would not have stopped for the night. They would have kept walking, forgoing sleep and food, unable to stop until they reached where they were going. For some reason that made her think of Bess, a sudden image of the young woman looking pale and manic. Devon frowned for a minute and then she smiled.

…………………………………………………………………………..

Danziger barely looked up when Julia and Alonzo stood up and walked to their respective tents, hand in hand. He kept his gaze focused on the dying flames of their tiny campfire, reluctant to look up and see Devon sitting there staring north, her face as cold and frozen as it had been with him during that first weeks of their acquaintance. So lost in his brooding was he that he started when he felt someone settle down close beside him. He glanced up and saw that Devon was watching him intensely.

"I owe you an apology, John. I've spent the last few days dismissing you, treating your opinions as though they don't matter. And I know that makes you angry." Devon paused as though expecting a response. Danziger just shrugged.

"And it should. Everything you said today makes sense. I know that. But it doesn't matter. I've been trying to figure out how to explain this so that you would understand – I don't like how I've been acting and I don't like that it has upset you."

"I'm not upset." Devon ignored Danziger's growled denial.

"Do you remember the time you and Bess inhaled the pollen from the springtime flower? Can you remember how it made you feel?" Danziger nodded slowly – that was not a time he liked to dwell on.

"Well, I think that this is a bit like that. I _**have **_to go north. It's not a choice any more. It's a compulsion. Even now, sitting here, I can feel the need surging through my veins. I feel dizzy, disoriented, twitchy when I'm still. I can't even imagine what it would be like if I turned around and headed the opposite direction." Danziger stared at her.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about all this? I do remember what you're talking about and I remember how it almost ended. Bess tried to throw herself off a cliff, for crying out loud!" Danziger's voice was a low, angry growl.

"I know. I didn't mean that this is exactly the same. I was just trying to explain how I felt – why I've been acting like I have. I still think the planet is trying to help us. If Alonzo and Uly are right and the planet is trying to bond with us then she's not going to want to hurt us. I think we're safe enough."

"Uh-huh." Danziger's tone made it clear that he was not convinced, but his face looked less angry, his expression less tight.

"And besides, I've got you here. You'll make sure I don't throw myself off any cliffs."

"I don't know, Adair, you might have been better bringing someone else along. There's been times I'd have been tempted to push." Devon laughed harder than the joke warranted, knowing the fact that he had made it meant that she was forgiven. After a moment Danziger joined in with her laughter and the tension that had been rising between them vanished as though it had never existed. The two sat by the fire in companionable silence for a while longer before Danziger chased Devon to her tent to sleep. He stayed on guard by the fire and she lay down beside Julia, both of them happier than they had been in days.

………………………………………………………………………………..

The next day saw a return of the rain, although it fell as a light drizzle rather than a gushing torrent. Other than making travelling uncomfortable it made no difference to the reconnaissance team. Despite the rain, the atmosphere in the group was lighter than it had been since starting out. Devon and Alonzo were still focussed on their destination, almost to the exclusion of everything else.

Danziger took a few minutes to pass on Devon's explanation to Julia, who frowned in concern, remembering only to well the near disaster that had occurred with Danziger and Bess. She did not understand why this explanation seemed to have reassured Danziger, seemed to have cheered him up so much, but she trusted his judgement and so she suppressed her concern.

The group made good time that morning. At around midday Devon once again passed rations around the still travelling group. For the first time Danziger did not argue that they should stop. Despite his best efforts he had been having very clear memories of his time infected by the springtime flower and he could remember only too well how painful it had been to sit still, to resist the call of the plant.

Devon smiled widely at Danziger as she handed him his spirolina, both grateful that he was no arguing and happy that her explanation seemed to have mended things between them. He smiled back and nodded slightly. She nodded back and than resumed her intense scrutiny of the northern horizon.

Danziger ate his lunch slowly, dividing his attention between the ground and the woman walking beside him. She seemed different today – lighter – than she had been for the past couple of days. It looked like he was not the only one who had been heartened by their conversation of the previous evening.

Perversely, it made him feel better to know that the awkwardness that had arisen between them in the last few days had affected her too. He was relieved beyond belief that she had an explanation for her behaviour, that she had not simply been reverting to the Devon of old, shutting him out, going her own way no matter what.

The past few days had taught Danziger a lot. He had realised how important his friendship with Devon had become – the idea that it had been threatened had left him reeling. Danziger had also realised that he had been taking the friendship for granted. Since Devon had been thawed he had felt their relationship change, grow closer and stronger, but Danziger had allowed himself to give no thought as to why the change was occurring or to where the friendship was headed. He had simply drifted along, taking each day as it came. And, now, he was not sure if he wanted to continue like that.


	18. Chapter 18

Into the Setting Sun

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

………………………………………………………………………………………….

For two more days they trudged through dreary landscape in drizzly rain. They walked mostly in silence, too exhausted to waste energy talking. But the silence was a comfortable one. Devon and Alonzo remained focused on their destination but at the end of each day they stopped without argument, enduring the discomfort until the sun rose. 

Danziger and Julia were still worried about what the future held. Would they get where they were going before the food ran out? What would happen if one of them stumbled on the uneven ground and broke an ankle? Would these hills hold the answers that Devon and Alonzo believed they did? But there was nothing they could do about these questions and they accepted that. 

Julia was grateful every moment of every day that Devon had brought her along – that she was there to watch over Alonzo and, if need be, protect him. She could not imagine what she would have been feeling if she had been sitting back in camp, waiting with no idea of what was happening. The camp knew that the geological make-up of these hills made gear communications over any distance impossible but still, to be waiting so long without any news… Julia did not think she could have borne it. She would have been a nervous wreck by now.

Danziger, too, managed to sublimate his concerns. Even after two days he was amazed at how much better he felt knowing that Devon had not just been dismissing his concerns out of hand and that she had felt bad about upsetting him. He had spent the past two days analysing his friendship with Devon – in his head he never called her Adair anymore – but had come up with very little. In the end he had decided to just sit back and enjoy having her as a friend, to treat the gradual evolution of their friendship as a natural thing.

On the third morning after Danziger and Devon had cleared the air things changed. Alonzo and Devon awoke, at exactly the same moment, with huge smiles on their faces and announced that they were almost there. Julia and Danziger heaved sighs of relief.

"How almost is almost?" Devon's smile turned into a grin as she answered Danziger's question.

"We'll be there today."

"Today?"

"Yes. We're so close now. It feels like a humming in my head." Alonzo nodded his head in agreement with this analysis.

"Then let's head out. Get this done." Devon's smile faded slightly. Danziger was not going to like what she had to say next.

"We need to split up."

"Why?" Danziger's voice was dangerously calm. 

"The humming. It echoes. Sort of bounces around. It feels just as strong when I face due north as when I face west." Alonzo nodded again and then spoke when Danziger frowned at him. 

"Devon's right, Danz. I can't get an exact read either. But it's definitely close." Danziger closed his eyes. 

"It doesn't matter what I say, does it?"

"John, I'm sorry…" Danziger interrupted Devon's apology gently, surprising her.

"It's not you fault, Adair." Devon smiled gratefully.

"So, Lonz, you and the doc take wets. Me and Adair'll try north. The gear should work so long as we don't get too far apart. So don't get too far apart. And be careful." Alonzo nodded and then he set off with Julia, who cast a single worried glance back at Danziger before focussing her attention on the ground. 

Danziger watched them for a moment before turning around to speak to Devon, only to find that she was already several yards away and moving north at a speed that was simply stupid on this type of ground. He swore softly and started after her as fast as he dared. 

By noon Danziger was starting to lose patience again. But at least this time his ire wasn't focussed on Devon but rather on the planet. They had spent all morning fruitlessly following the humming that Devon heard in her head. He had checked in regularly with Julia and knew that she and Alonzo were having no luck either and that Alonzo was starting to mutter that the humming was getting fainter. 

This was getting ridiculous – at one point it had even occurred to him to wonder if this planet had a sense of humour and was right now laughing at them. By the time Devon stopped, a grin splitting her face, Danziger was in a foul mood.

"We're here." Danziger looked around.

"Uh-huh. What exactly am I supposed to be seeing?"

"I don't know. But we're right on top of it. I can feel the resonance." Danziger took a deep breath, silently reminding himself that this was not Devon's fault.

"Well then, I guess we look around a bit." Devon nodded enthusiastically and walked toward a patch of scrub growing against the wall of the canyon they were currently standing in. Danziger followed her slowly, flicking his gear on and calling Julia.

Her face swam into focus in front of him but she spoke before he could.

"We're already on the way. About two minutes ago Alonzo just turned and headed north. He said Devon had found it. Is that true?"

"So she says."

"Well, what is it?"

"Dunno. Adair says its here but we haven't figured out what is here." Julia nodded and Danziger signed out. Suddenly he heard Devon squeal. He looked up just in time to see her vanishing behind a bush. Sighing heavily, he followed her. 

And found himself standing at the opening to a fairly large cave. To his surprise, he realised that he could hear a humming noise, probably the one that Devon and Alonzo had been hearing since that morning. He shook his head in wonder and started to pick his way carefully into the dark cavern knowing that, even though he could not see her, this is where Devon had gone. 

The further he walked into the cave the louder the humming noise became until, suddenly, he remembered hearing it before. He stopped stock still, panic threatening to overwhelm him. If she had… He would kill her…

"Devon! Devon!" He began a stumbling run, heading toward the humming. He rounded a corner, the humming closer than ever, and saw a sudden flash of bright light, gone almost as soon as it appeared.

He groaned, his worst fears confirmed. This was what they had come all this way to find? A second flash of light appeared, illuminating a familiar figure standing only feet in front of him. He sighed with relief – at least she had not done anything stupid. Danziger stepped forward and placed a hand on Devon's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Devon. I know you had such high hopes…"

"Sorry? What for? This is wonderful, Danziger. Better than I could ever imagine. Do you know what this means?"

"What it means? No way, Adair, you can't be thinking of using this." Danziger couldn't see Devon's face but he knew she was frowning at him.

"Of course we're going to use it. Spider caves, John. We can be in New Pacifica almost instantly."

"How do you know that? You have no way of knowing where these go."

"The planet _sent_ us here, Danziger."

"It doesn't matter anyway. Even if it does go to New Pacifica, we've no guarantee its safe. Do you even remember the last time we used one of these? I almost got crushed! Alonzo was poisoned by a spider! We almost got stranded!"

"This is different, Danziger." Devon's voice had taken on a lecturing tone and Danziger ground his teeth.

"No, it's not. These things are dangerous, unpredictable. There's no guaranteeing where you'll come out or what state you'll be in when you do."

"The planet won't hurt us, John." This time she sounded just like she did when she was trying to placate an angry or scared Uly. 

"You can't know that. Things can always go wrong. And besides, what does it matter where it goes? There's no way in hell we're getting the rover into this cave, even if by some miracle we managed to get it this far into the hills. 

"We'll figure something out, Danziger." 

"No! No we won't. I'm not letting you do this. You told me to stop you from throwing yourself off the cliff, remember?" Danziger made an effort to make his voice less angry. The light flashed again and Danziger saw a wistful look on Devon's face before the darkness closed in once more.

"I don't want to fight, John." With those words Danziger felt Devon move away. She took two steps forward, straight into the newly forming light. Quick as a flash she was gone, leaving Danziger alone in the dark, cursing himself for a fool.


End file.
